The effect of stacking sequence of basalt and Kevlar fibers on the Charpy impact behavior of hybrid composites and fiber metal laminates

In this study, the effect of the arrangement of Kevlar and basalt fibers as the reinforcements on the Charpy impact behavior of hybrid epoxy composites was investigated. Also, the effect of adding metal plates (aluminum 2024-T3 and stainless steel 316L) into the basalt/ Kevlar fibers reinforced epoxy composites to fabricate fiber metal laminates (FMLs) under Charpy impact loads was studied. The fabricated FMLs in this research consisted of three metal plates and two groups of composite layers placed between them and were fabricated by hand lay-up technique. Results indicated that the stacking sequence of fibers due to the hybridization effect caused the considerable improvement in the energy absorption value (99%) of hybrid composites, compared to specimens with one kind of fibers. Moreover, the effect of adding Al plates for the fabrication of FML was greater than adding steel plates. Considering the weight of composites, FMLs with Al and steel sheets, it was found that the average specific energy absorption value of Al-FMLs was about 2.5 times higher than those of steel-FMLs and composites.