High Strain-Rate Through-Thickness Compression Testing of Symmetrical Inter-ply Hybrid Polymer Composites Reinforced with Carbon/Glass and Carbon/Kevlar Fibers

A compressive split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatus is utilised for the high strain-rate investigation of symmetrical epoxy-based carbon/glass (CGE) and carbon/Kevlar (CKE) hybrid composite samples along the through-thickness direction. The stacking sequence used for the hybrid composites was [C5/G5]S and [C5/K5]S. Compared to the density of neat epoxy-based carbon (CE) composite, the density of CGE composite was about 14% higher, whereas the density of CKE composite was about 8% lower. An initial striker velocity of about 25 m/s was used for all experiments. The mean reference strain rate observed for CGE and CKE hybrid composites was 2293 and 2333 s−1, respectively, with a negligible difference in mean compressive strength. The mean strain to failure of [C5/K5]S was almost 17% higher than [C5/G5]S, and proper stress equilibrium was observed. This article presents the significant outcomes of SHPB testing, including mechanical response and failure analysis of the hybrid composite samples.