Effect of Shear Thickening Fluids on the Mechanical and Impact Response Behavior of GFRP Composite for Protective Applications

Abstract

Efficient crashworthiness of composite materials is one of the fundamental issues in design of lightweight vehicles to provide high amount of energy absorption, protect human injury, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fuel cost, and to achieve consolidation of multiple components. In this paper, the effect of shear thinking fluid (STF) on mechanical behaviour of shear thickening composite laminates was investigated. The laminates used were symmetric Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) intended for cost effective vehicle and personal protective system applications. The STFs were chosen due to their benefit to improve the efficiency of protective systems, in addition to increased lightness and flexibility. Beside protective applications, these smart fluids have been suggested to absorb shock waves from blast waves, to improve the vibration and damage resistance of a structure. Experimental tests were performed using universal and impact testing machines to study the mechanical behaviour of the composite materials. Impact testing was performed at various energy levels. The impact response was evaluated using optical transmission scanning (OTS) system, displacement, and acceleration. Experimental results revealed that the impact response of GFRP varied due to the presence of STF and energy levels. Initial results show that the damage resistance is affected by the unique phenomena caused by the presence of STF. A better understanding of these phenomena and their contributions is essential for design of resulting structural components.