Experimental investigation on dynamic and static transverse behaviour of thin woven Carbon/Aramid hybrid laminates

Trends in the development of lightweight micro/mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) demand thin composite laminates for their structural applications. As these structures experience impact loading during their life cycle, the performance enhancement in the through-the-thickness direction is deemed mandatory. This study investigates the application of Aramid/Carbon fibre reinforced polymer hybrid thin laminate in enhancing static and dynamic transverse loading behaviour. Laminates are fabricated by Vacuum-Assisted Resin Infusion Moulding (VARIM) process. A three-point bending and the Charpy impact tests were conducted to analyse the static and the dynamic transverse loading behaviour of the hybrid laminates, respectively. The effect of location and stacking sequence of the woven aramid layers on low-velocity impact and the static transverse flexural loading has been investigated in this study. The results have revealed that the location and the stacking sequences of the Aramid fabric in laminated CFRP play an essential role in their impact strength with a compromise in the flexural properties. The laminates with two layers of Aramid fabric at (0/90) and (±45) orientation each on their outer surface displayed a better impact behaviour in terms of the average impact strength and the absorbed energy. The images obtained from optical micrography conclude that the delamination and fibre breakage as the significant damages due to through-the -thickness loading. © 2020 The Authors