Impact Performance of Macrocomposite Laminates-2. Effect of Adhesive Layers

The effect of an adhesive layer on impact energy of macroscopic materials was studied. Both glass and carbon fibers reinforced plastic (GFRP and CFRP) composites were bonded to stainless steel using two types of adhesives: epoxy and ionomer. The FRP materials contain biaxial and quasiaxial fabrics. The impact properties of the FRP/stainless steel using the two types of adhesives were compared at both low (10 J) and high (120 J) energies. The results indicate that adhesive layer can make a significant contribution in improving the impact properties of composite materials. Ionomer adhesive proved to be more active than the epoxy adhesive as evident from degeneration of impact properties which was less than 20% while that of epoxy was as high as 30%. It was also observed that the deformation sustained by the stainless steel using epoxy adhesive was more severe than that of ionomer adhesive.