*Result*: Interlaminar properties and low-velocity impact/post-impact responses of glass fiber composites with polysiloxane-modified epoxy resin.
*Further Information*
*Laminated composites with weak interlayer properties are highly vulnerable to out-of-plane loading. Low-velocity impact (LVI) events will cause severe internal damages, such as interfacial delamination, significantly reducing the residual mechanical properties and compromising structural safety. This study conducts extensive experiments to evaluate the effects of the polysiloxane-modified epoxy (P/E20) on the interlayer properties, LVI and compressive after impact (CAI) responses of laminated composites. The failure behaviors and damage characteristics of the tested specimens are also compared and analyzed. Results show that P/E20 resin exhibits significantly improved interlaminar fracture toughness compared to epoxy resin (EP), with a 187.5% increase in the strain energy release rate at steady state. Moreover, compared to the glass fiber-reinforced EP composite (GFR-EP), the glass fiber-reinforced P/E20 composite (GFR-P/E20) reduces the delamination area from LVI loading by 25.6%, and increases impact energy absorption by 18%. In addition, during CAI loading, the GFR-P/E20 laminate exhibits rougher matrix-fiber debonding interfaces, which hinder fiber-matrix separation and result in a 13.1% higher CAI strength compared to the GFR-EP laminate. The results demonstrate that using P/E20 resin effectively toughens laminated composites, providing a reliable way to enhance the impact damage resistance and residual mechanical property of composite structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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