Abstract
A dropped-weight test apparatus has been developed that can be used to perform low-speed impact tests on composite aircraft structures. This vertical drop-weight test apparatus is simple, compact, inexpensive and has precision impact and self-arresting design features similar to the more sophisticated, expensive test machines. The test apparatus has been used to perform low-speed impact response studies on laminated composite plates to understand the influence of impactor and target parameters on structural response and to develop a validated analysis method. Some of the experimental results generated by using this test apparatus for composite laminated plates are presented in the present paper and compared with the corresponding analytical results.
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Ambur, D.R., Prasad, C.B. & Waters, W.A. A dropped-weight apparatus for low-speed impact testing of composite structures. Experimental Mechanics 35, 77–82 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02325839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02325839