Impact on thermoplastic fibre-metal laminates: Experimental observations

This work investigates a new generation of fibre metal laminates, termed TFMLs, based on an aluminium alloy and a self-reinforced polypropylene (SRPP). Circular plates were studied experimentally under conditions of localized impact loading. It was observed that the TFML plates outperform glass fibre/epoxy based FMLs under impact conditions. Limitations, associated with the metal/polymer interface and the interlayer toughness, are discussed in detail. The response of this material, and its constituents, were characterized over a wide range of strain-rates through the use of innovative equipment and techniques. This is of particular importance, given that the mechanical properties of SRPP are recognized as being strain-rate dependent. This paper presents extensive experimental data that can be used for modelling the response of TFMLs under impact conditions.