Effect of the stacking sequence on the impact response of carbon-glass/epoxy hybrid composites

This paper investigates low-velocity impact response of Quasi Isotropic (QI) hybrid carbon/glass fiber reinforced polymer composites with alternate stacking sequences. Cross-ply woven carbon and glass fibers were used as reinforcing materials to fabricate sandwiched and interlayer hybrid composites. For comparison, the laminates containing only-carbon and only-glass fibers were also studied. Drop weight test was used to impact the samples. The images captured by a normal camera demonstrated that localized damages (delamination) existed within plies. The hybrid laminates had smaller load drops, smaller maximum deflection, and higher maximum load compared to the single fiber laminates. In addition, carbon outside interlayer hybrid laminate showed the highest maximum load and energy absorption, showing the significant dependence of the impact performance on hybridization and stacking sequence. It was concluded that a hybrid composite would help improve impact performance of laminated composites compared to non-hybrid composites if they are properly designed.