Multi-criteria decision-making analysis and numerical simulation of the low-velocity impact response of inter-ply S2-glass/aramid woven fabric hybrid laminates

Abstract

Hybrid composites have gained a lot of attention due to their superior mechanical performance and energy absorption capacity compared to single-fibre counterparts, but studies on the hybridization of aramid and S2-glass fabrics are still scarce. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision-making analysis and numerical simulation applied to the study of the performance of asymmetric inter-ply hybrids of plain-weave aramid and satin-weave S2-glass fabrics/epoxy laminates subjected to low-velocity impact. Different aramid/glass fibre ratios, impact sides and impact energies (19 J, 37 J and 72 J) were investigated. A multi-criteria decision-making analysis was performed to identify the best laminate design based on the technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution which considered areal density, deformation and absorbed energy as design criteria. A novel numerical FE model based on continuum damage mechanics was developed considering non-linear material constitutive behaviour and different interlaminar and intralaminar failure modes. The material model was implemented in Abaqus/Explicit solver using a user-defined material model, and the non-linear material behaviour in the normal direction is considered by defining instantaneous stiffnesses using third-degree polynomials. The results identified single fibre laminates as the worst designs and hybrid laminates with aramid on the impact side as the best design. Besides, for similar fibre ratios, the total delamination area was larger for the impact on aramid layers.