Abstract
Natural fibre composites are a lightweight alternative to the conventional synthetic fibres offering a more sustainable and environmental friendly material for various structural and non-structural applications. Hybrid composites consist of the combining of natural fibres with conventional ones, resulting in a more advanced structure. This work focuses on the experimental investigation of low energy impact damage characteristics of woven flax fibre reinforced vinyl ester based composite and carbon fibre hybridised flax hybrid composite subjected to low velocity impact. Impact tests at two different incident energy levels (25 and 35 Joules) were performed on flax and carbon/flax hybrid composite specimens. The damage and damage mechanisms of the impacted specimens were analysed using X-ray micro computed tomography (CT). Various layer-by-layer imaging representations were analysed in order to understand how the damage was being initiated and developed. The results suggested that carbon fibre hybridisation exhibited significantly improved impact resistance behaviour, which was also confirmed by micro-CT examination.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | 1st International Conference on Health Monitoring of Civil & Maritime Structures |
| Subtitle of host publication | HeaMES 2018 |
| Publisher | ASRANet Ltd |
| Pages | 62-70 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-9998536-4-8 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Feb 2018 |
| Event | 1st International Conference on Health Monitoring of Civil & Maritime Structures - London Duration: 5 Feb 2018 → 6 Feb 2018 |
Conference
| Conference | 1st International Conference on Health Monitoring of Civil & Maritime Structures |
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| Abbreviated title | HeaMES |
| Period | 5/02/18 → 6/02/18 |