Flash X-ray radiography technique to study the high velocity impact of soft projectile on E-glass/epoxy composite material

Abstract

Abstract In the present paper, the high velocity impact of 9 mm soft lead projectile on 10 mm and 30 mm thick E-glass/epoxy composites was studied using a 450 kV Flash X-ray radiography (FXR) system. The basic parameters of FXR imaging, such as effect of ratio of target to film (TF) and source to target (ST) distances and X-ray penetration thickness of the composite material were optimized based on clarity and the actual dimensions of the objects. The optimized parameters were used in the FXR imaging of the ballistic event of 9 mm soft projectile on E-glass/epoxy composite. The real time deformation patterns of both the projectile and composite target during the ballistic impact were captured and studied at different time intervals. The notable failure modes of the 10 mm thick target with time include fibre breakage, bulging on the back side, delamination, recovery of the bulging, reverse bulging and its recovery. However, with increase in thickness of the target to 30 mm the only failure mechanism observed is the breaking of fibres. The ballistic impact event was also numerically simulated using commercially available LS-DYNA software. The numerically simulated deformation patterns of the projectile and target at different time intervals are closely matching with the corresponding radiographic images.