High-velocity ballistic response of AA 1100-H14 based carbon-fiber metal laminates: An experimental investigation

A detailed experimental investigation was carried out for the high-velocity ballistic response of AA 1100-H14 based carbon-fiber metal laminates (FMLs). FMLs with different metal volume fractions and the same thickness of carbon-epoxy fiber laminates were tested to examine the surface and internal damage. The ballistic performance parameters, namely % escalation in absorbed energy, specific energy absorbed, ballistic limit, specific perforation energy, first cracking energy, and global deformation profile, were studied and a comparison was drawn with pure carbons fiber reinforced epoxy composite laminates. Despite having greater thickness, pure carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite laminates absorbed less impact energy than FMLs and failed catastrophically. For FMLs, the % escalation in the absorbed energy and the specific energy absorption kept increasing with the increasing impact velocity until the onset of perforation. Once the perforation started, both these parameters showed a decreasing trend. Thick FMLs absorbed a good amount of energy, leading to projectile recoil suffering minimal damage. The ballistic velocity, specific perforation energy, and first cracking energy on the front and rear face of FMLs layers showed an increasing trend. The minimum for the thinner and maximum for the thicker FMLs attributed to the large thickness and more metal volume fraction. Contrary to the large deformation of the impacting points, pure carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composite laminates showed very minimal deformation as compared to FMLs. The brittle nature of the epoxy resin resisted the deformation to a large extent leading to less energy absorption.