Experimental investigation into the response of chopped-strand mat glassfibre laminates to blast loading

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the response of glassfibre chopped-strand mat laminates to air pressure blasts. Experiments were conducted with a variety of monolithic and layered targets of laminates with differing areal densities. Results of the post-impact visual inspection show three distinct damage modes: matrix cracking, delamination/debonding, and penetration as final damage. The analysis focuses on resistance to damage of these modes, damage propagation with increasing blast impulse, damage distribution in the thickness direction of the targets, and the influence of blast attenuation and large-area support on the target response.