Effect of Stacking Sequence on the Low Velocity Impact Performance of Abaca/Rubber Hybrid Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT Natural Fiber‐Reinforced Composites (NFRCs) have emerged as potential alternatives to synthetic fiber‐based composites for engineering applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. Despite their advantages, such as biodegradability and availability, NFRCs face limitations that restrict their use to non‐structural applications due to challenges such as low‐impact resistance. Hybrid composites have been employed to address these challenges. This study investigates the low‐velocity impact (LVI) response of abaca/rubber hybrid composites with varying stacking sequences: abaca/rubber/abaca [A/R/A], abaca/rubber/rubber/abaca [A/R/R/A], and abaca/rubber/abaca/rubber/abaca [A/R/A/R/A]. The composites were subjected to impact energy levels of 10.24, 17.14, and 23.95 J using a conical‐shaped impactor. Impact energy absorption, peak force, energy loss percentage (ELP), coefficient of restitution (CoR), and damage analysis were among the important performance metrics that were assessed. The [A/R/A] configuration demonstrated superior energy absorption, achieving 14.06% and 25.83% higher absorption compared to [A/R/R/A] and [A/R/A/R/A], respectively. The energy absorption ratios for [A/R/A], [A/R/R/A], and [A/R/A/R/A] were 70.06%, 60.20%, and 53.56%, respectively. Conversely, the [A/R/A/R/A] sequence exhibited enhanced damage resistance at all energy levels. These results indicate how hybrid composites may combine energy absorption and damage resistance to overcome the drawbacks of pure NFRCs, making them appropriate for sacrificial layer applications in low‐velocity impact conditions.