Core material effect on impact behavior of glass fiber sandwich composites

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the effects of core material and its thickness on impact behavior of sandwich composite plates subjected to low velocity impact, experimentally. Two PVC foams and PET foam were selected as the core material, having approximate density of 60 kg/m3 and thicknesses of 5, 10 and 15 mm. The stacking sequence of the sandwich composites are [+45/-45/0/90/core/90/0/-45/+45].Impact tests were carried out by using Fractovis Plus Impact testing machine under room temperature. Various impact energies were selected from 10J to 70J to analyze the impact energy level. The dimensions of the specimens are 100 mm x 100 mm. After the impact tests, absorbed energy, maximum contact time, maximum deflection and maximum contact force versus impact energy, contact force versus deflection and contact force versus time curves were obtained for mentioned impact energies for sandwich composites with PVC and PET foams, and [+45/-45/0/90] laminated composites.As a result, it is seen that the core material and its thickness have notable effects on the impact behavior of sandwich composite plates. Sandwich composites have also higher absorbed energy, penetration and perforation threshold.Keywords: Sandwich composite, PVC foam, PET foam, Core thickness, Low velocity impact