Effect of lamination sequence and warhead shape on impact resistance of fiber‐metal laminates

Abstract In this work, the failure mode and ballistic protection capability of the carbon fiber aluminum alloy laminated target plate under the impact of high‐speed projectile body were studied by ballistic impact test. The effects of the lamination sequence and warhead shape difference on the impact resistance of the laminated aluminum alloy and carbon fiber laminates were analyzed. Two kinds of projectile bodies, flat and oval head, were used to carry out multiple high‐speed impact experiments on four groups of targets with different stacking sequences. By analyzing the result, it is found that the lamination sequence of the target plate has a significant effect on the anti‐impact performance only when the flat head projectile impacts, while the ovoid projectile has almost no effect. In the fiber‐metal composite configuration, the aluminum plate placed in front of the carbon fiber plate showed the best resistance to flat head bullet impact, the ballistic limit speed reached 135 m/s, and the overall impact resistance improved by up to 26% compared with other configurations. Unlike the shear failure caused by flat head projectile, ovoid projectile impact can cause serious tensile and tear damage. Based on the experimental results, it is clear that the laminated structure has better penetration resistance against the flat head projectile, and the placement of aluminum plate on the impact surface can change the failure mode of carbon fiber laminates and improve the energy absorption level of composite plates. Highlights Unlike traditional fiber‐metal laminates, the target plate used in this experiment does not use adhesive, which makes the deformation of the two materials will not affect each other, which is conducive to the study of its own impact resistance. The mechanical behavior and damage failure mode of the target plate under high speed impact load were studied. The impact of ovoid projectile changes the damage failure mode of the target plate. For the configuration of fiber‐metal laminates, the ballistic limit value is as low as 100 m/s, and the energy absorption value fluctuates in the range of 145–190 J with the change of impact velocity. Compared with ovoid projectile, laminated material has stronger impact resistance to flat head projectile. The metal plate arranged on the impact surface can change the damage mode from shear failure to tensile failure, thus greatly improving the ballistic limit and impact resistance, overall impact resistance can be improved by up to 26%.