Experimental analysis of the quasi-static penetration test on fiber metal laminated plate reinforced by nano-silica

Abstract

FMLs are lightweight hybrid materials that possess specific static properties, impact resistance, fracture resistance, and fatigue resistance. These characteristics make FMLs highly desirable for various applications in the transportation industry (Hu et al., 2015 Dec 1) [2].The present study aims to scrutinize the energy absorption and strength characteristics of a kind of Fiber Metal Laminate (FML) reinforced with Nano silica (0, 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 wt %) that is fabricated from braided fiberglass and carbon fiber sleeve and aluminum 2024-T3. Sleeve-type braided fiberglass, carbon fiber and highly adhesive resin were introduced as interlayers. The arrangement of FMLs layers was in 2 types, first AL/Glass/Glass/Glass/Glass/AL and second AL/Glass/Carbon/Carbon/Glass/AL. The produced FMLs were tested to evaluate the behavior and strength characteristics under quasi-static indention. Quasi-static indentation test performed with spherical head penetrators at a 5 mm/min rate. The experiment continued until the indenter fully penetrated the specimen. These FMLs crushed progressively and are unlikely to fail under catastrophic failure, although specimens with 0.6% Nano silica in glass fiber and specimens with 0.3% in the glass and carbon fiber have better performance. A comparison of the results of glass FMLs with hybrid FMLs shows that Nano silica-reinforced glass fibers have achieved better results than hybrid fiber. To study the structure of amplified FMLs, electron microscopy (SEM) imaging was used which showed that in FMLs with better results, Nano silica was evenly distributed on the layer of epoxy resin. The results also indicate that the mechanical performance of a new FML has a good potential to be applied as a new and efficient energy absorber.