Abstract This experimental work focuses on the two aspects of glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminate. The first is the effect of GFRP plate thickness and impact loading direction on impact strength, and the second is the effect of GFRP panel thickness and small span length variation on flexure strength. The GFRP laminate thicknesses considered for experimentation were 2, 3, and 4 mm. Both Izod and Charpy impact tests were conducted by considering edgewise (lateral impact) and flatwise (normal impact) impact loading directions. The quasistatic flexural tests were conducted using a three-point bend method for two small span length variations, viz., 50.8 and 56 mm. Impact strength of 2-mm-thick GFRP laminate under the edgewise loading condition showed 13 and 134.1 % more for Charpy and Izod, respectively, compared with 4-mm GFRP samples. In contrast, under the flatwise loading condition, 2-mm-thick specimens showed 14 and 54 % more impact strength when compared with 4-mm-thick GFRP specimens. GFRP samples with 2-mm thickness showed 59.85 and 59.6 % enhancement in flexural strength for span lengths of 56 and 50.8 mm, respectively, when compared with 4-mm-thick GFRP panels. Improvement in flexural strength between span lengths 50.8 and 56 mm for thicknesses 4 and 2 mm is 26 and 42 MPa, respectively, which is a 10 % improvement. Analysis of variance statistical analysis showed that the loading conditions and thickness of GFRP panels in the case of impact and small span length variation, and thicknesses in the case of flexural strength, is the significantly influencing parameters.
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