Author : Gayatri Vineela. M, Gayathri Tadepalli and A. Krishnaiah

E- Glass/ epoxy polymer composites find widespread applications because of their several advantages like high wear resistance, good strength-to-weight ratio and low cost. They find huge application in the construction of automotive and aviation body structures, in which they are inevitably subjected to sudden impacts during their construction, maintenance and functioning. The study of the damage behaviour of the fibre reinforced polymer composites (FRC) subjected to impact loads has become a crucial area of research. In this paper, the processing, characterization and the effect of the various orientations (0/90; 30/60; 45/90) of E-Glass/epoxy composite plates has been investigated experimentally and analytically using ABAQUS after being impacted with a standard drop weight. The response of these laminates to low velocity impact has been recorded and compared. The study reveals that the impact resistance of cross – ply laminates is more when compared with angle ply laminates.

Keywords: FRC; E- Glass/ epoxy polymer composites; Impact loads; Fibre orientation; drop weight

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.6, No.1 (Feb-2016)