Projectile impact and drop weight damage on hybrid composites reinforced with woven carbon/glass fibers on SS304 wire mesh

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites exhibit excellent mechanical strength. However, they are susceptible to impact loads due to their low interlaminar fracture toughness, leading to delamination. This work presents an innovative hybrid laminate structure in which carbon and glass fiber yarns are hand-woven alternately over a stainless steel 304 wire mesh (SSWM) and incorporated into a CFRP matrix. In contrast to traditional CFRP mesh-reinforced composites, this design integrates metallic mesh with woven fiber yarns to improve load transmission and damage tolerance. Two different types of laminates, nonwoven (NW) and woven (W), with 90° yarn orientations, were produced using the conventional hand layup method. Low-velocity impact tests were performed at drop heights of 0.5 m and 1 m to assess energy absorption and load-bearing capacity. The results show that woven laminates absorbed more energy and could withstand greater loads when struck by a cylindrical indenter than NW laminates. A ballistic impact investigation was conducted on CFRP laminates of 120 × 120 × 3 mm using hemispherical nose-shaped projectiles. Crucial factors, including impact velocity, residual velocity, damage area, percentage of ballistic resistance, and delamination, were derived from the experimental data. The ballistic impact findings indicate that the residual velocity of the NW composite was 12% lower than that of the woven composite under hemispherical projectile impact, thereby confirming the woven composite's enhanced resistance.