Study of mechanical properties of entangled metallic wire mesh-silicone rubber composites under low-velocity impact

Composite materials exhibit the impressive high energy consumption and impact resistance, which cannot be attained by employing conventional single materials. Along these lines, a novel entangled metallic wire mesh–silicone rubber composites (EMWM–SRC) was proposed by compressing SR into the pores of EMWM through vacuum infiltration. Quasistatic tests were conducted at various temperatures. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of the impact velocity, matrix density, wire diameter, and anisotropy of EMWM–SRC under low-velocity impact was performed. The results revealed that the composites maintain high stability up to 300 °C. Compared to traditional EMWM, the proposed composites exhibited higher loss factor, particularly with a significant enhanced in tangent modulus. The low-velocity impact results demonstrated that EMWM–SRC exhibited superior energy absorption capabilities, which was attributed to increased friction between the spiral coils and enhanced interface friction between the EMWM and SR. Notably, EMWM-SRC with different matrix densities exhibited energy absorption efficiencies exceeding 90% at an impact velocity of 3.5 m/s. Furthermore, the effects of impact velocity, wire diameter, and anisotropy on the impact response of composites were discussed in detail. Additionally, a description of the energy consumption properties was explored from the perspective of wire deformation mechanics. Overall, the proposed composites possess significant potential as impact resistant elements with high energy absorption capacity.