Experimental Evaluation of E-Glass/Epoxy Composite Laminates Subjected to Low Velocity Impact Test (drop Weight)

Laminated Composite construction is used increasingly for various applications such as marine, aerospace, automotive, sporting goods etc. However, laminated structures are generally poor at resisting impact damage due to low speed&high speed impacts. The extent of damage in composite structures depends on the stacking sequence of the skin laminate, the size, and mass, velocity of the impactor and on the ability of the component to absorb the shock at the impact point. Hence, there is a greater need to address the issue of Impact resistance of laminated composite panels and also investigate the failure modes under impact loading conditions. The purpose of this work is to investigate experimentally the Drop weight Impact response of laminated composites. Impact tests had been conducted to characterize the type and extent of damage observed in a composite configurations with E-Glass/epoxy specimens with varying thickness.