Moi University, Department of Manufacturing, Industrial and Textile Engineering, P.O Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya; CSIR Materials Science and Manufacturing, P.O Box 1124, Port Elizabeth 6000, South Africa; Department of Textile Science, Faculty of Science, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
Wambua, P., Moi University, Department of Manufacturing, Industrial and Textile Engineering, P.O Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya; Anandjiwala, R., CSIR Materials Science and Manufacturing, P.O Box 1124, Port Elizabeth 6000, South Africa, Department of Textile Science, Faculty of Science, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
This paper investigates the low velocity impact response of cotton, flax/cotton and glass/cotton hybrid composites. The composites were prepared by compression moulding and cut to dimensions specified by the Boeing impact test specification. All the specimens were impacted at 17, 26, 44, 62 and 77J energy levels on an Instron dynatup 9250HV drop weight impact tower by a hemispherical impactor head. Impulse software was used in data acquisition and analysis of results. The cotton and flax/cotton composites mainly failed through cracking, tensile fracture and delamination, while glass/cotton hybrid composites failed by deflecting and delamination. The glass/cotton composites were not penetrated and did not fracture even at high impact energy levels. © 2011 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved.