EFFECT OF GLASS FIBER HYBRIDIZATION ON LOW VELOCITY IMPACT BEHAVIORS OF BASALT FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE LAMINATES.

One of the major drawbacks of fiber reinforced composite laminates is the poor impact damage resistance. Several effective techniques to improve impact damage resistance have been proposed in the literature and among those, fiber hybridization technique takes substantial attention. However, little attention has, as yet, been received for the improvement of impact behavior of basalt fiber reinforced composite laminates by interplyfiber hybridization. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of glass fiber hybridization on Charpy impact behavior of basalt fiber reinforced composite laminates. For this purpose, a series of Charpy impact tests have been performed on composite laminates made of basalt and glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin matrix in five different stacking sequences. Hybrid composite laminates have been fabricated using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding method. The test results show that the absorbed impact energy and impact strength are significantly influenced by the hybridization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]