Effect of impactor nose form on the impact behavior of reinforced composite materials

Abstract The goal of the present study is to investigate the influence of impactor shape on the low-velocity impact behavior of the composite panels manufactured with different reinforcement materials at the same thicknesses, experimentally. Kevlar, carbon, S-2 glass woven fabric and epoxy matrix have been used to manufacture thermoset composites with the vacuum-assisted resin infusion molding method. The Fractovis plus test machine with a 12.7 mm diameter hemispherical and two different conical impactor noses was used to perform impact tests. The effects of impactor shapes on the low-velocity impact behavior have been compared for 20 J, 40 J, and 60 J energy levels. Although at the same impact energy level, S-2 glass fiber-reinforced epoxy specimens have a higher perforation threshold than carbon and Kevlar fiber-reinforced epoxy. Because to achieve the same thickness, the number of S-2 glass layers was greater than the number of carbon and Kevlar layers. Additionally, the form of the impactor greatly influenced the perforation threshold.