The influence of stacking sequence to mechanical properties of fibre reinforced polymer composites

Challenges in many engineering fields require lightweight materials with optimal mechanical and other properties. Application of composite materials can meet those challenges in transport, sport, medicine, and aeronautical industries and has been a subject of research and commercial interest in the last decades. Mechanical properties are often key criteria in material selection thus a greater understanding of the influence of the composite material structure to the mechanical behaviour is of the essential significance. In this paper different stacking sequences of glass and carbon fibre in polyester matrix are compared and influence on impact strength and flexural properties is analysed. Experimental results show that there is a significant influence of the fibre orientation and lay-up on the mechanical properties.