On the relationship between impact energy and delamination area

Thin glass/epoxy plates fabricated from 3M prepreg tape were subjected to low-velocity impact. Delamination in the impacted composite plates was measured by edge replication and was identified as the major damage mode. The effects of fiber orientation, thickness, and lamination on the delamination resistance were investigated. Experimental results verified three previous findings: (1) a linear relationship holds between delamination area and impact energy, (2) the mismatch of bending stiffness between adjacent laminae can be correlated with the delamination area on the interface, and (3) the behavior of a thin composite plate under low-velocity impact is very similar to that caused by global bending. In addition, based on the calculation of impact energy per unit delamination area, the dynamic fracture energy and the energy of dissipation in the thin glass/epoxy plates can be examined.