The effect of laminate stacking sequence of CFRP filament wound tubes subjected to projectile impact

The work described herein focuses on the effect a change in the laminate stacking sequence has on the ability to dissipate kinetic projectile energy. Two different T800 carbon fibre filament wound tubes in an epoxy matrix with lay-ups of [−35°/+35°/90°3/−35°/+35°/90°3/−35°/+35°] (laminate A) and [90°6/(−35°/+35°)3] (laminate B) are investigated. The tubes are subjected to impacts up to and above the ballistic limits. The energy dissipated by material failure and friction is quantified and shown to be similar for the two laminates at the respective ballistic limits. The results indicate that laminate B provides the best energy dissipation performance as a result of a higher ballistic limit than laminate A and a difference in the strain energy due to a different local response of the two laminates.