The effect of test parameters on the impact resistance of a stainless steel/rubber/composite hybrid structure

In the present study, high velocity impact tests were carried out on stainless steel/rubber/composite hybrid plates. The projectile velocity, impact angle, number of impacts, sample temperature, and prior ageing were used as variables in order to investigate the effect of test parameters on the impact behaviour of the samples. In general, the energy absorption and the damage behaviour of the studied hybrid structure were rather immune to the changes in the test parameters. Only the impact angle showed a stronger effect with increasing plastic deformation and dissipated energy with increasing impact angle. Similar but not as strong effect was found with increasing sample temperature. In addition, the effect of increasing impact angle on the damage size was found to be stronger than the effect of increasing impact energy at a constant impact angle. The repeated impact studies showed that the structure does not lose its ability to withstand dynamic loading even when there is a gradually progressive damage. The results support the potential of the studied steel/rubber/composite hybrid structure to be implemented in real life applications.