Residual flexural strength after low-velocity impact in glass/polyester composite beams

This work focuses on an experimental study of flexural after impact behaviour of glass/polyester composite beams. The influence of impact energy, beam width, and impactor-nose geometry on the residual flexural strength was evaluated. Two widths of plain woven laminate specimens were selected. For each specimen width, the geometries of two impactor-noses (Charpy and hemispherical) were chosen to carry out impact tests using a three-point bending device, so that four different test configurations were executed. The residual flexural strength of damaged specimens, evaluated by quasi-static three-point bending tests, was found to depend on the extent of the damage, so that the residual flexural strength was lower in the specimens in which the damage reached the edges of the beam. For this reason, the residual strength was lower in specimens impacted with a Charpy-nose impactor than in the specimens impacted with a hemispherical-nose impactor. Analogously, the narrower specimens presented a lower residual flexural strength than did the wider ones.