Low Velocity Impact Studies on a 4-Ply Knitted Kevlar Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Composite

Four-ply knitted Kevlar fabric reinforced epoxy composites with three different stacking sequences were subjected to normal impact of up to 10 J using a hemispherical steel impactor. Similar modes of damage were observed from impacts on all three different stacking sequences where damage progressed from matrix cracking and fibre/matrix debonding at low impact energies to fibre breakage and eventual through-thickness cracks at higher impact energies. A critical mode of damage occurred at about 4.5 J where there was a sudden deterioration of impact resistance due to fibre breakage at the top and bottom plys. The only significant difference among composites of different stacking sequences subjected to low velocity impacts of similar magnitude was the propagation of through-thickness cracks at impact energy larger than 5 J.