The shock response of a tape wrapped carbon fiber composite

Abstract

Carbon fiber composites are becoming ever more important in the design and construction of vehicles for the aerospace industry. Such vehicles will be subjected to transient loading during their inservice lives. Consequently, it is important to know how carbon fiber composites behave while under shock loading. This study investigates the shock response of a tape wrapped carbon fiber composite with a phenolic resin matrix and with the carbon fiber weave angled perpendicular to the direction of impact. The Hugoniot equation of state was found to be linear and of the form U S=3.69+0.59u p. Periodic oscillations were observed on many of the traces, attributed to interactions between the various layers of the composite. Further, a Hugoniot elastic limit of 1.39 ± 0.19 GPa was found. Finally, embedded lateral stress gauges indicated that at low pressures (< 5 GPa), lateral stresses in the composite were comparable to what would be expected in the matrix material alone, e.g. the lateral behaviour was highly dependent on the phenolic resin. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.