Intermediate velocity bullet impact response of laminated glass fiber reinforced hybrid (HEP) resin carbon nano composite

In this study, five different types of six layered GFRP laminates were prepared from three types of resin systems and compared for their intermediate velocity bullet impact response. The first panel was made of epoxy resin, second one is of hybrid resin (a blend of 60% epoxy and 40% polyester) and the remaining three panels were made of hybrid resin with MWCNT in three different proportions by weight (0.1%, 0.5% and 1.0%). The composite and nano-composite panels were characterized experimentally for the important issues in the field of aerospace engineering, like medium velocity bullet impact response and vibration damping characteristics. The MWCNTs were responsible for greater characteristics improvement in the hybrid resin due to their high tendency to absorb the impact shock. The panels without MWCNT turn out to be lesser shock absorption capability. Additionally, 0.1% MWCNT hybrid panel shows exceptional damping response by damping the impacted vibration within 9.5 ms. There is also a 175.51% increase in the damping ratio of the panel. The higher percentage MWCNTs show lesser response towards damping of vibration. This may be due to the lengthy entangled structure of MWCNTs in the resin. It is also observed that the impacted damage is higher in the epoxy system panel than the nano-composite panel.