Impact strength of optically transparent glass ribbon composites

Abstract

Optically transparent ribbon-composite (OTRC) panels were made by reinforcing a clear polymer matrix with glass ribbons of matching refractive index. These panels had glass volume fraction up to 0.60 and tensile strength up to 772 MPa. Impact testing of 610 mm × 910 mm × 6 mm OTRC panels with a 0.45 kg projectile indicated two different failure modes at similar impact energies. One failure mode, corresponding to impact velocities from 883 to 913 km/h, was associated with crack initiation, which transitions to a large delamination zone. The second failure mode, corresponding to a 922 km/h impact velocity, is associated with crack formation as in a typical punch‐through failure. An ABAQUS finite element model was used to analytically predict the impact resistance of OTRC panels.

Optical properties of optically transparent glass-ribbon composites

“…High-strength, optically transparent glass-ribbon composites (OTRCs) are candidates for use as components in laminated high-impact resistance aircraft windshields, aircraft passenger windows, and in lightweight armor windows. 1 Rigid and low-weight OTRC panels can be laminated as components into windshields or complex composites for applications in high-speed vehicles, high-strength windows, and security cases. Potential applications of thin-film, flexible, transparent composites include substrates for optical uses (liquid crystal and organic electroluminescent display panels, color filters, and solar cells 2 ) and substrates for nanoarrays (sensors, thermoelectrics, and insulators 3 ).…”

Transparent, methacrylate‐based polymer networks with controlled crosslinker ductility

“…Much of the recent research in the area of impact resistant transparent polymers focuses on composites. Fiber‐reinforced composites 2–5 , as well as nacre‐inspired composites 6 are two examples.…”

The design and performance of a polymer ribbon‐reinforced transparent composite material

“…There is a need for improved impact resistant transparent materials to serve functions such as blast, ballistic, and weather resistant windows . Because they offer unique energy‐absorbing damage modes, including delamination and fiber pullout, composite materials have been identified as candidates that could significantly improve material performance if they can be successfully rendered transparent, either by matching constituent refractive indices (RI) or reducing the characteristic size of the reinforcement to the nanometer scale .…”

“…To mitigate this problem, researchers have used rectangular cross section fibers. Compared with a round cross section, the rectangular section does not refract and scatter light as severely . While the ribbon approach improves the temperature stability of a glass‐polymer composite's optical properties, it still suffers from temperature dependent optical performance .…”