Effect of cross section material distribution on impact response of hybrid composites

A linear analytical model is proposed to evaluate the magnitude of the impact force as a function of the velocity of the impactor. This model provides a simple tool for estimating the magnitude of the impact load from the impact energy. For hybrid composites subjected to low- and medium-velocity impacts where elastic deformation is assumed, the effect of cross section material distribution on impact response was investigated. For a hybrid metal/polymer laminate and a hybrid titanium composite laminate, the relative position of the laminate plies has a significant effect on the plate deflection under impact loads. For equal areal weight plates, the number of layers in a hybrid composite laminate does not appear to affect the impact resistance. However, the relative material ratio of metal to polymer (or metal to polymeric composite) in hybrid composites significantly affects the impact response. Furthermore, the relative ply thickness in a laminate does not have significant effect on its impact resistance for plates with equal areal weight, but the research shows that the total relative material distribution does significantly affect the impact response. The analysis also shows that the effect of cross section material distribution. can be qualitatively evaluated by checking the bending stiffness of the plate.