An experimental and numerical study of epoxy-based Kevlar-basalt hybrid composites under high velocity impact

In this paper, the high velocity impact (HVI) behavior of epoxy-based Kevlar-Basalt hybrid composites was studied experimentally and numerically. The composite specimens were manually placed in nine layers classified into six types of stacking sequences: non-hybrid, sandwich hybrid, and intercalated hybrid. The impact tests were conducted by using a ballistic apparatus at three different energy levels: 150 J, 200 J, and 250 J, and the amount of absorbed energy was calculated based on input velocity and residual velocity of the projectile. The results demonstrated that hybridization improves the behavior of composites in high velocity impacts compared to that of specimen that are not hybridized. The absorption of sandwich hybrids on average increased 23.25% and 11.3% compared to pure Basalt and Kevlar, respectively. Moreover, the intercalated hybrids showed an efficiency of about 35.6% and 21.76% better than that of pure Basalt and Kevlar, respectively, in absorbing energy. The same energy absorption pattern was observed in numerical simulation performed in ABAQUS/Explicit. Also, the highest amount of energy absorption and the lowest residual velocity as well as damage occurred when Kevlar was attacked by the projectile and the layers were intercalated.