PSI - Issue 71

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 71 (2025) 380–387

5 th International Structural Integrity Conference & Exhibition (SICE 2024) Low Velocity Impact Analysis of Hybrid Composite Deepak Kumar, R. Udhayaraman ∗ , R. Sujithra Department of Applied Mechanics, MNNIT Allahabad, Prayagraj – 211004, India

Abstract Recently, there has been an increasing demand for hybrid composites across various industries, including defense, aerospace, and sports. These composites often experience low velocity impact in their lifetime and undergo interlaminar and intralaminar damages. Therefore, the present work is aimed at numerical investigation of the low velocity impact (LVI) behavior of epoxy-based hybrid laminates reinforced with flax, sisal, carbon fibers. The numerical impact analysis in finite element method-based software ANSYS ® is initially simulated and verified for the existing numerical impact analysis given in literature. Several stacking sequences are employed for numerical analysis in ANSYS ® to forecast how the above-mentioned hybrid composites will respond and fail under LVI. The impact properties of laminates such as energy absorption, peak reaction force, and damaged area are studied at different energy levels. The results indicate that hybridization of natural and synthetic fibers brings significant changes in mechanical impact properties in hybrid composite than those of natural composites. © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of SICE 2024 organizers

Keywords: Low velocity impact; Hybrid composite; Finite element analysis; Natural fibers; Synthetic fibers

* Corresponding author. Tel.: + 91-532-227-1208 ; fax: + 91-532-254-5341 E-mail address: udhayaappmech@mnnit.ac.in

1. Introduction Hybrid composites, driven by the need for affordability and environmental concerns, are now common in boat manufacturing, aerospace, and automotive sectors. Hybrid composites, combining elements like particle reinforced, fiber reinforced, or polymer matrix composites, offer superior strength, stiffness, and corrosion resistance compared to aluminum and metal alloys. The shift from synthetic to hybrid fiber composites in FRPs is driven by their high specific strength, low density, and the renewability of natural fibers. Current research focuses on optimizing natural fiber composites, known for their eco-friendliness in various industries.

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of SICE 2024 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.08.051