MANE 4920: Experiment Number 3: Impact Response of Materials

Tarah-Kye Borozny

Panel Composite Steel Aluminum

Width (mm)
96.80 102.51 101.98

Length (mm)
138.00 152.62 152.57

Thickness (mm)
1.21

Mass (g)
24.97 84.57 21.06

0.70
0.45

Panel

Total Energy (J)

Energy/Mass (J/g) 0.034403 0.102069 0.159318

Aluminum Steel Composite

0.724546 8.632015 3.978188

Flexural Bending Strength Bending strength/mass (GPa) (GPa/kg) 2.25461 107.05651 5.63136 66.58811 0.38858 15.56189

4.) The steel sample shows a higher total energy absorption as well as flexural bending strength, yet when normalized the composite proves to have the highest energy absorption and aluminum has a higher bending strength. Normalization by mass is relevant to aerospace engineering because weight is a very important factor in the design process. 5.) Composites may be preferred over metals because they have a high strength to weight ratio. Weight can be very costly in aerospace applications in terms of the aircrafts fuel efficiency, so the more heavy metal components that can be replaced with a light weight composite the more fuel efficient the aircraft will be. 6.) Typically composites are temperature limited, therefore they are unfit for the extreme heat found inside certain parts of an aircraft engine. However they may be seen in the cooler areas, and as newer composites are being developed, the trend of these materials appearing in the engine is increasing. 7.) During impacts with lower velocities, the energy is conserved and converted into heat and sound energy. This is observed in the deformation of the plate. However, when speeds are increased the impacts shorter contact period does not allow enough time for the plate to deform and absorb the energy, so the plate will act more brittle and fracture.