Impact Performance of a Woven Fabric CFRP Laminate

Low velocity instrumented impact, ultrasonic C-scan and compression-after-impact tests have been employed to assess the damage resistance and damage tolerance of carbon fibre-epoxy matrix composites (CFRPs). The potential advantages of using woven fabrics, compared to cross ply unidirectional fibres, in impact performance of carbon fibre composites were examined. The laminates had two distinct fibre configurations and similar static in-plane mechanical properties in the undamaged state. The characteristic impact loads and the corresponding absorbed energies were used to evaluate the initial damage resistance of the laminates. The residual strengths, measured from the compression-after-impact tests, were analysed to predict the threshold energy and the threshold damage area, which are a measure of the damage tolerance of the laminates.