Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the High Velocity Impact Response of GLARE with Different Thickness Ratio

GLARE is a fiber metal laminate that is a novel hybrid composite, consisting of thin aluminum and glass/epoxy layers. The main advantage of GLARE is its high fatigue and impact loading resistance. Also its areal density is lower than metals or composites when they are used alone. In fact, it has benefits of metals and composites simultaneously. In this paper some 2/1 GLARE laminates are manufactured and impacted by 8.7 mm diameter blunt cylinder projectiles at energies up to that required to achieve complete perforation of the target using a helium gas gun. Aluminum and composite layers in these laminates have different thicknesses so the effect of changing thickness of aluminum or composite layers on the ballistic performance of GLARE, ie. Ballistic limit velocity and specific perforation energy, can be investigated. The efficient thickness ratio to maximize the specific perforation energy is obtained, too. The same tests are analyzed numerically by LS-DYNA and the results show good agreement with experimental data. The results are discussed and commented upon. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of ICM11