Failure analysis of the impact resistance of protective rubber panels.

• Experimental measurement the hardness of the protective rubber panels. • Experimental measurement the impact resistance of the protective rubber panels. • Determining the damage degree of the protective rubber panels. • The effect of impact energy on the type of damage to panels. The present article describes experimental research on the impact resistance of protective rubber panels. The investigation was carried out with three different types of panels made of a rubber granulate, with polypropylene glue as the binder. Thus, all three types of rubber panels were subjected to a determination and analyses of their Shore hardness. The third type of tested rubber panel was found to exhibit a higher hardness due to the higher content of glue. It was observed that the novel double-layer protective rubber panel with a higher content of glue and a lower content of granulate was able to absorb, without any visible damage, approximately 6.5-times more impact energy than the single-layer rubber panel with a higher content of granulate and a lower content of glue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]