Analysis of the impact location on damage tolerance of bonded-repaired composite laminates

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the influence of impact point on the damage tolerance of repaired laminates was studied experimentally. Two configurations, thin carbon/epoxy laminates and the same laminate with a double patch repair, were impacted in two different locations, at the specimen centre and at the edge of the patch. Afterward, compression after impact (CAI) tests were performed, analysing the residual strength and failure progression. In repaired laminates, a significant influence of the point of impact on the impact resistance was observed, specifically for impact energies higher than 15 J. Both specimen configurations showed similar trends in all impact variables analysed when the impact was located at the centre. Related with damage tolerance, the CAI strength of repaired specimens impacted at the centre is significantly higher than the residual strength of those impacted at the patch edge. The latter have a similar trend that the non-repaired laminates in both impact locations.