The low velocity impact is a common phenomenon which occurs in fiber reinforced polymer composite products like LPG cylinders, fighter aircraft fuel drop tanks, aircraft wing surfaces, sports goods etc. The consequences of low velocity impact will create a considerable damage and ultimately lead to a premature failure of the structure. Hence the polymer composites for engineering applications must be provided with a better design solution. From the literature survey it is observed that, the response of composite laminates subjected to quasi-static loading, exhibits similar results as that of low velocity impact. Polymer reinforced composites are poor in damage tolerance with better strength to weight ratio than conventional materials. However composite materials can be tailored to meet the design requirements by manipulating fiber orientations and laminae stacking sequence. In the present paper, principles of classical laminate theory are considered for analysis. FEM is implemented for thorough understanding of the failure mechanism of each laminate by layer wise. Simulated quasi-static loading tests and observed the layer wise distribution of transverse strain intensity. The experimental setup is designed and fabricated as per ASTM D 6264 standards. The E-glass/epoxy composite laminate is quasi-statically loaded at its center by a steel ball indenter of diameter 8.7mm and its response is measured by the degree of opacity or translucency in terms of interlaminar and intra-laminar damage area. The stacking sequence of composite laminates are chosen as [00/600]12, [00/750]12 and [00/900]12. The damage areas obtained from numerical analysis are in good agreement with experimental results.
Stacking Sequence Effects on Damage Onset in Composite Laminate Subjected to Low Velocity Impact