The Relationship Between the Extent of Indentation and Impact Damage in Carbon-Fibre Reinforced-Plastic Composites after a Low-Velocity Impact

Brooks, R. A.; Liu, J.; Hall, Z. E.C.; Joesbury, A. M.; Harper, L. T.; Liu, H.; Kinloch, A. J.; Dear, J. P.

Abstract

The present paper investigates the low-velocity impact behaviour of carbon-fibre reinforced-plastic (CFRP) composite panels and the damage incurred when they are subjected to a single impact. The relationship between the depth of permanent surface indentation that results and the associated area of interlaminar delamination damage is investigated for two different thicknesses of composite panels. In particular, the delamination damage area increases with impact energy for both thicknesses of composite panel that were studied. Likewise, the indentation depth also increases with increasing impact energy, again for both thicknesses of CFRP panels. It is shown that the indentation depth, at the centre of the indentation, may be used to provide an indication of the extent of delamination damage within the CFRP panel after impact. Indeed, from plotting the indentation depth versus the interlaminar delamination normalised by the thickness of the panel area there is shown to be a unique 'master' relationship, with a positive intercept indicating that the indentation damage seems to result before delamination damage initiates. Thus, for both thicknesses of CFRP panels, it is suggested that the indentation process is a precursor to interlaminar delamination damage.

Citation

Brooks, R. A., Liu, J., Hall, Z. E., Joesbury, A. M., Harper, L. T., Liu, H., Kinloch, A. J., & Dear, J. P. (2024). The Relationship Between the Extent of Indentation and Impact Damage in Carbon-Fibre Reinforced-Plastic Composites after a Low-Velocity Impact. Applied Composite Materials, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-024-10223-2

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Apr 3, 2024
• Publication Date: Apr 3, 2024
• Deposit Date: Mar 19, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 4, 2025
• Journal: Applied Composite Materials
• Print ISSN: 0929-189X
• Electronic ISSN: 1573-4897
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10443-024-10223-2
• Keywords: CFRP composite; impact behaviour; indentation damage; delamination damage
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/32742155
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10443-024-10223-2
• Additional Information: Received: 19 December 2023; Accepted: 15 March 2024; First Online: 3 April 2024; : ; : The authors declare no competing interests.