Comparison of impact behaviour of glass, carbon and Dyneema composites

Lightweight fibre-reinforced polymer composites are currently being applied extensively in the design of transport structures to replace conventional metallic solutions, and also in structures that are exposed to the risk of foreign object impact. Therefore, an experimental study was undertaken to assess and compare the low- and high-velocity impact behaviour of S-2 glass (R), HTA carbon and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (Dyneema (R)) composites. Three different impact test methods were applied: Charpy pendulum impact tests, drop-weight impact tests and ballistic impact tests with a gas gun. The results with the focus on penetration energy are compared in terms of correlation between the three test methods and in terms of weight-specific material performance. While the S-2 glass (R) fibre showed the best performance of the epoxy-based composites, the PUR-based Dyneema (R) HB26 panels proved the best penetration resistance in this study.