Low velocity impact and compression after impact damage responses on flax/basalt fiber hybrid composites

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the low velocity impact and compression after impact responses of woven flax and basalt fiber reinforced polyester composite. The basalt and flax fibers are arranged with varying stacking orders and composites were fabricated through compression molding technique. This research also focuses on the utilization of natural and synthetic fiber combinations for some impact related applications. The low velocity impact test was carried out with 12 J of energy to explore the composite load bearing capacity. The impact affected area was calculated with the help of Liquid Penetrant test (LPT), the minimum affected area noticed on pure basalt fiber composite. Compression after impact (CAI) showed better results for composite which has more stacking of flax fiber. From the overall observation the alternate arrangement of basalt and flax fiber composite shows the better performance for low velocity impact and compression after impact studies.