Experimental Investigation Into the Failure of CFRP T-joints Under Ice Impact and Quasi-static Loadings

Abstract

The dynamic failure behaviors of composite T-joints were investigated through conducting the simulated hail ice (SHI) impact experiment. The SHIs were made in laboratory environment and fired by using a gas gun. Crack onset and propagation in the deltoid of CFRP T-joints were captured by using a high-speed camera. The quasistatic tensile experiment was also carried out and the digital image correlation (DIC) technique was adopted to capture the failure process of CFRP T-joints. The different failure mechanism of CFRP T-joints under tensile and impact loadings were comparatively discussed in this study and the deltoid zone was found to play a key role in the damage process under impact loading.