Failure modes in a carbon/titanium fibre metal laminate under hypervelocity impact

Titanium and carbon-fibre reinforced epoxy fibre metal laminates (FMLs) are investigated to determine their potential as a mass efficient passive armour for countering the threat of explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) travelling in the region of 2000 m/s. A proposed methodology for predicting the effect of the impact is presented, together with the results from test shots. There is good correlation between the predictions and the test results. The tests show that the failure modes of the composite material constituent are influenced by the lamination sequence. The tests also show that one of the contributory mechanisms to the failure in the titanium is the formation of adiabatic shear bands.