Effects of interply hybridization on the damage resistance and tolerance of composite laminates

This paper presents an experimental study of the drop-weight impact response of interply hybrid laminates manufactured using polymer-matrix composite materials. Three different reinforcements, woven carbon fabric, woven glass fabric and unidirectional carbon tape, are combined with an epoxy resin using the Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process. In-plane quasi-isotropic laminates are analyzed by combining pairs of materials and by changing their location in the through-the-thickness direction of the laminate. In addition, different impact configurations defined in terms of impact energy are performed to increase the number of case studies. The analysis is completed by non-destructive inspections based on ultrasonic technique and Compression After Impact (CAI) tests for the assessment of the residual strength. The results obtained highlight the effects of interply carbon and glass hybridization under low-velocity impact and CAI loading.