Exploring the Impact Behavior of Hybrid Fiber‐Metal Laminates Based on Aluminum/Glass‐Kevlar Fibers‐Reinforced Epoxy Under Low and High Velocities

An experimental study is conducted to develop hybrid fiber‐metal laminates (HFMLs) composed of aluminum (Al) alloy and glass/kevlar fibers (GFs/KFs)‐reinforced epoxy composites. Their dynamic behavior is evaluated under low‐velocity (Charpy) and high‐velocity (ballistic) impact conditions. Fiber‐metal laminates (FMLs) based on KFs demonstrate superior specific absorbed energy (SAE) under low‐velocity impact. Meanwhile, conventional kevlar fiber‐reinforced epoxy composite laminates (non‐FMLs) exhibit the highest SAE under ballistic loading, achieving values of 2.97 and 22.2 J m 2 Kg −1 , respectively. HFMLs exhibit effective impact performance at both velocity ranges, influenced by the fiber type and impacted face. Notably, the impact resistance of the Al/GFs/KFs/Al system is improved by increasing the KF plies, especially when the GFs are placed on the impacted side, reaching improvements of around 84% in Charpy and 87% in ballistic impact over the Al/KFs/Al system. The primary failure mechanisms include fiber breakage, matrix cracking, fiber debonding, and delamination between the composite plies, along with plastic deformation and shearing of the Al layers. HFMLs dominated by KFs exhibit a positive hybridization effect with less damage extent and delamination within the laminate constituents, with penetration depth limited to around 12.10 mm.