The fracture properties of environmental-friendly fiber metal laminates

Abstract

The tensile and impact properties of environmental-friendly composites and FMLs have been investigated. Of the four composites investigated here, a SRPP composite offered superior properties to basalt-, flax-, and hemp fiber-reinforced PP composites. Adding aluminum layers to the outer surfaces of the composites resulted in a significant enhancement in the tensile and impact properties of the laminates. The tensile strength and modulus properties of the FMLs obey a rule of mixtures approach, suggesting that simple procedures can be used to design these hybrid systems. Under low-velocity impact loading, the SRPP, and its associated FML, offered the highest resistance to perforation, as a result of gross plastic deformation in the composite and metal plies. A semi-empirical model, previously employed to characterize metal plates, was used to characterize the low-velocity impact response of the laminates investigated here. The model was capable of predicting the trends in the experimental data with reasonable success. This evidence suggests that environmental-friendly fiber-based FMLs offer significant potential for use in engineering applications.