Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
1879-3509
abstract
This work analyses the impact against a rigid plate of carbon epoxy fragments. Experimental tests have been performed by means of a gas gun capable of launching rectangular pieces of composite laminates at a wide range of impact velocities (from 70 to 180 m/s). The impact process has been recorded using three high speed video cameras which allowed to analyse the phenomenon and to obtain the deceleration of the fragment and hence the force time history and impulse induced on the plate. The failure process of the impacted fragments has been studied to identify the main absorption mechanisms and based on that a simple analytical model is proposed in order to predict the erosion and the impact force. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.