Low-Velocity Impact Response and Surface Damage Analysis of Basalt/Carbon Hybrid Filament-Wound Composite Tubes

Hybrid composites offer an alternative because the costs of carbon fiber reinforcements are high and the mechanical features of glass and basalt fiber reinforcements are lower than carbon fibers. It is of great importance to use hybrid fiber-reinforced composite tubes to minimize the disadvantages of them and obtain optimum mechanical and impact energy performances according to the working conditions and areas. In this study, basalt fiber reinforcements (BFR) and carbon fiber reinforcements (CFR), [±2]2 BFR/[±2]2 CFR/[±2]2 BFR hybrid, and [±6]2 BFR composite tubes were manufactured using the filament winding process. Low-velocity impact (LVI) experiments were carried out on the BFR/CFR/BFR hybrid and BFR composite tubes under energy levels of 15, 20, and 25 J. As a result of the experiments, liquid penetrant application was carried out to determine the surface damage. To measure the development of damage on the surface, the damaged areas were determined using image processing. No ring-shaped surface damage was observed in the hybrid composites. Although delamination and radial cracks are the most common types of damage in BFR composites, cross-sectional microscopic analyses have revealed that delamination is the predominant damage mode in BFR/CFR/BFR hybrid composites. The hybrid composites exhibited higher maximum loads and lower displacement values at all energy levels.