Effects of impactors’ shape on three-dimensional woven fabric composites at low-velocity impacts

Abstract

This study investigated the fabric resistance of three-dimensional (3D) woven fibreglass composites generated by impactors of three shapes, i.e., hemispherical, conical, and ogival, on four types of composite structures. Composites were fabricated using the hand lay-up technique. Crimp and mechanical impact resistance tests were carried out in accordance with ASTM D2444 standards and ASTM D3883-04, respectively. The four-floating interlocked (4FLL) yielded the strongest fabric damage tolerance for all the three types of impactors’ shapes with 6.3 kN for the hemispherical shape, 4 kN for the conically shaped, and 3.8 kN for the ogival shape. Additionally, the 4FLL generated a fabric crimp of 3.5% and 2.8% on both fabric directions. The post-impact damage showed that the ogival shape impactor penetrated samples of woven composites better than the conical and hemispherical shapes.