Low velocity impact and compression-after-impact response of hybrid pseudo-woven meso-architectured carbon/epoxy composite laminates manufactured via automated fiber placement

Abstract

An experimental study is presented on the low velocity impact (LVI) and compression after impact (CAI) response of T800-SC carbon/epoxy laminates manufactured via automated fiber (AFP) placement manufacturing. Two hybrid laminate configurations consisting of unidirectional and pseudo-woven meso-architectured composite (MAC) sub-laminates are compared against a traditional quasi-isotropic control laminate. MAC sub-laminates are manufactured via a modified AFP process implementing tow skips. The MAC architecture is macroscopically heterogeneous with discontinuous and spatially varying fiber orientations both in-plane and through thickness resulting in multiple interfaces and an expanded design space. The laminates are tested under LVI energies of 15–55 J using a 25.4 mm diameter hemispherical projectile according to ASTM D7136. The results show similar load-displacement responses but significant difference in the LVI damage profiles and CAI strengths for the different configurations. The hybrid laminate configurations exhibit increased damage resistance with up to 37% higher critical delamination load and increased damage tolerance with 26% higher residual compressive strength after an impact of 55 J compared to control laminate.