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Projectile Density, Impact Angle and Energy Effects on Hypervelocity Impact Damage to Carbon Fibre/Peek Composites

Lamontagne, Chantal G., Manuelpillai, Gerald N., Kerr, Justin H., Taylor, Emma A., Tennyson, Roderkick C., Burchell, Mark J. (2001) Projectile Density, Impact Angle and Energy Effects on Hypervelocity Impact Damage to Carbon Fibre/Peek Composites. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 26 (1-10). pp. 381-398. ISSN 0734-743X. (doi:10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00110-5) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:5070)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00110-5

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of projectile density, impact angle and energy on the damage produced by hypervelocity impacts on carbon fibre/PEEK composites. Tests were performed using the light gas gun facilities at the University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, and the NASA Johnson Space Center two-stage light gas gun facilities at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Various density spherical projectiles impacted AS4/PEEK composite laminates at velocities ranging from 2.71 to 7.14 km/s. In addition, a series of tests with constant size aluminum projectiles (1.5 mm in diameter) impacting composite targets at velocities of 3,4, 5 and 6 km/s was undertaken at incident angles of 0, 30 and 45 degrees. Similar tests were also performed with 2 mm aluminum projectiles impacting at a velocity of approximately 6 km/s. The damage to the composite was shown to be independent of projectile density; however, debris cloud damage patterns varied with particle density. It was also found that the entry crater diameters were more dependent upon the impact velocity and the projectile diameter than the impact angle. The extent of the primary damage on the witness plates for the normal incidence impacts was shown to increase with impact velocity, hence energy. A series of tests exploring the shielding effect on the witness plate showed that a stand-off layer of Nextel fabric was very effective at breaking up the impacting debris cloud, with the level of protection increasing with a non-zero stand-off distance, (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00110-5
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: Mark Burchell
Date Deposited: 30 Sep 2008 18:14 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:43 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/5070 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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