Study of Impact Damage Behavior in Woven Carbon Fiber Plates

Abstract

Composites are being used extensively in aerospace structures as their properties offer significant advantages such as better strength to weight capacity. However, failure in composite structures due to low-velocity impact raises a maintenance concern because it can lead to an invisible damage. Hence, the objective of this study is to investigate impact damage behavior in woven composite plates via microscopic examinations. Several specimens were fabricated and were subjected to different levels of impact energy. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray imaging were used to examine the impacted area. The results showed that the impact damage is dependent on the plate thickness and also the impact energy. The outcome of this research will help to establish an efficient modelling technique for non-destructive evaluation of composites.