Dissipating mechanical mechanisms and their link to morphology in polyamide toughened carbon-epoxy UD laminates

Abstract

Toughened carbon/epoxy laminates include thermoplastic particles. Depending of the curing cycle, the morphology of the thermoplastic phases can differ. This strongly impacts the degradation scenario of the composite. In the present paper, such reinforced laminates are evaluated. Different morphologies are studied. Classical experiments are used to evaluate the impact of the morphology on the damage and plasticity evolution laws at the scale of the ply. Some elements to model the toughening mechanism at the inter-ply scale are given and limitations are discussed.