Controlled impact testing of woven fabric composites with and without reinforcing shape-memory alloy wires

Shape-memory alloy composites are relatively new materials and their behaviour is not yet completely understood. The purpose of this work is to minimise the effect of impact damage on their structural performance. To do that, GFRP woven fabric reinforced epoxy composite panels, with and without additional superelastic shape-memory alloy wires, have been impacted at constant velocities using a servo-hydraulic testing machine, and a digital video camera has been used to monitor the impact event. Single, multiple and partial penetration impact tests have been carried out, and the energy absorption and damage development are similar in all cases for the same material. The benefit of using the superelastic shape-memory alloy wires was seen only at high displacements and when the volume fraction of the wires was high.