Monitoring techniques for carbon fibers reinforced plastics used as complex structures

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) have become an indispensable part of modern life. CFRP materials continue to be used in a large number of applications ranging from aerospace systems to automotive, industrial and consumer products. CFRP have evolved both in reinforcement and matrix. The epoxy resin was the most usually matrix for CFRP. The reliability of these materials is essential, especially when it comes to safety-relevant components. The service life of CFRP components is affected by aging processes or improper use. Nondestructive evaluation methods which can be applied for examination carbon/epoxy laminates, manufactured by autoclave processing method with different ply stacking sequences [0]8 and [(45/0)2]s are presented. The samples were realized from 4 plates of carbon-epoxy manufactured at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The paper present influence of thermal treatment and stacking sequence on damage delamination’s due to impact about mechanical properties. Ultrasound and electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation methods are used for good localization of damage and characterization composite materials and other techniques can provide complementary information once the damage location is known.