ABSTRACT
The present work deals with assessing the effect of PVC foam core density on the low-velocity impact response of the sandwich composite with jute epoxy face sheet. PVC foam cores of densities 50, 80 and 120 kg/m3 are used for fabricating the sandwich composite using the hand layup process. The proposed composites are subjected to low-velocity impact, and the responses are recorded in terms of energy absorption, contact force and nature of damage. Finally, Taguchi’s design of experiments is applied to decide the influential factor on the impact response of the proposed composites. The results revealed that the higher the core density, the better will be the impact response. The statistical approach adopted showed that core density plays a prominent role in deciding the energy absorption and damage mitigation.
