Experimental and analytical model for the penetration and indentation prediction on BFRP laminates under low velocity impacts

Low velocity impact tests at different impact energies were performed on basalt fibre reinforced plastic laminates, varying laminate thickness, stacking sequence, support dimensions and indenter diameter. A previous modified analytical model for the prediction of the indentation as a function of the impact energy, valid for carbon and glass fibre reinforced plastic laminates, was applied: a different behaviour was observed denoting an other damage mechanisms of the basalt fibre laminates. About the prediction of the penetration energy, the previous model largely applied in the literature showing the importance of the total fibre content was adopted, and a good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental results was found. In analysing previous experimental data, in comparison to those of carbon fibre reinforced plastics, higher impact energy was found to be necessary to penetrate the basalt laminates whereas the indentation depth at the same impact energy was lower. A larger number of tests were carried out to validate a preliminary work done by the authors.