Investigation of knitting architecture on the impact behavior of glass/epoxy composites

In this study, the effect of impact and post-impact behavior of E-glass/epoxy composite plates having different knitted fabrics were investigated by considering energy profile diagram and the related load-deflection curves. Different impact energies (5-25 J) were subjected to the plates consisting of eight layers of Plain [P](8), Milano [M](8), and Rib [R](8) knitted fabrics. The impact tests were continued until complete perforation of layer fabrics. The damage modes and damage processes of layer fabrics under varied impact energies were also discussed. At the end of the impact tests, the damaged samples were mounted into a compression apparatus to determine the Compression after Impact (CAI) strength of layer fabric samples. The results of these impact and post-impact tests showed that the maximum contact force was observed in the [R](8) fabric and the minimum contact force was observed in the [P](8) fabric and the CAI strength reduced by increasing the impact energy. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.