Low speed impact tester design and impact testing of composite plates

In engineering applications, especially in production, assembly and usage processes, unexpected impacts may occur. Therefore, impact tests are used to determine the damage types and dynamic deformations of materials. Impact tests are used in many areas such as aircraft and space industry, automotive sector, maritime, where composite materials are used. In this thesis study, a low-speed impact test device was designed and manufactured. Solidworks program was used in the design. The completed impact test device was compared with an accredited device. In the device comparisons, layered composite productions were carried out using different fibers. XPS and EPS polymer foam were used as core material in the samples. In the productions, polymer foams and glass and carbon fibers were bonded to the upper and lower sides of the foams with the help of resin. Glass fiber reinforced samples with 200 gr/m2 and 300 gr/m2 were produced as 4 and 6 layers on both sides, a total of 8 and 12 layers. The productions were carried out by vacuum bagging method using manual lay-up method. After the productions were completed, the experiments were carried out by cutting them to sizes suitable for the standards. At the end of the comparison, similar force deformation graphs were obtained.