The purpose of the work was the effect of metal volume fraction of fiber metal laminates on damage after dynamic loads based upon the example of innovative hybrid titanium–carbon composite laminates. The subject of the study was metal–fiber hybrid titanium–carbon composite laminates. Four types of hybrid titanium–carbon laminates were designed with various metal volume fraction coefficient but constant thickness. Based on the results, it can be stated that changes in the metal volume fraction coefficient in the range of 0.375–0.6 in constant thickness titanium–carbon composite laminates do not significantly affect their resistance to impacts in the energy range of 5–45 J. It was concluded that there were no significant differences in maximum force values, total contact time, and damage range. Some tendency towards a reduction in the energy accumulation capacity was observed with an increase in thickness of the metal part in relation to the total thickness of the laminate, especially in the lower impact energy range. This can result in the lower bending stiffness of laminates with lower metal content and potential elastic strain of the composite part before the initiation of the fiber damage process.

The paper presents the authors’ method and test rig for performing the deformation analysis of unmanned aircraft fuselages. To conduct the analysis, the DIC system was used, as well as a test rig designed and constructed by the authors, equipped with a dedicated control and load control system. The article presents a description of the research capabilities of the test rig developed for testing the deformation of unmanned aircraft fuselages. Due to the specific operating conditions of the designed fuselage, the test rig developed allows the simulation of loads corresponding to different flight conditions. In addition, it is possible to change the forces acting on the fuselage simultaneously for all servos or each of them separately. Finally, results showing the displacement of component control points for the considered fuselage versions are presented. The tests carried out using the developed test rig allowed the verification of the maximum deformations.

The combination of fibre metal laminates (FML) and sandwich structures can significantly increase the performance under impact of FMLs. The goal of this work was to create a material that will combine the superior properties of FMLs and foam sandwich structures in terms of the impact resistance and simultaneously have lower density and fewer disadvantages related to the manufacturing. An extensive impact testing campaign has been done using conventional fibre metal laminates (carbon- and glass-based) and in the proposed fibre foam metal laminates to assess and compare their behaviour. The main difference was observed in the energy absorption mechanisms. The dominant failure mechanism for fibre foam laminates is the formation of delaminations and matrix cracks while in the conventional fibre metal laminate the main failure mode is fibre cracking due to high local stress concentrations. The reduction in the fibre cracking leads to a better after-impact resistance of this type of structure improving the safety of the structures manufactured with these materials.