Low-Velocity Impact Response of Woven Carbon Composites in Arctic Conditions

Abstract

Arctic exploration has risen in the past few years due to which new challenges have emerged with regard to lightweighting in naval structures using fiber reinforced composite materials. An in-depth understanding of the mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of fiber reinforced composites in arctic conditions need to be established for use in such applications. Towards that, the focus of this paper is on establishing the low-velocity impact behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polymeric composites in arctic temperature (– 50 $$^{\circ }\hbox {C}$$ considered here). Impact responses, such as the contact force, displacement and absorbed energy, at four impact energies of 20, 25, 30 and 35 J are determined at arctic temperature (– 50 $$^{\circ }\hbox {C}$$ ) and compared against those at room temperature (25 $$^{\circ }\hbox {C}$$ ). Optical microscopy and micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning are used for identifying the extent and type of failure on the surfaces and in the interior of the composites, respectively. Key changes in failure mechanisms are observed with respect to changing impact energies and temperatures, and a detailed account is provided in this paper.