Abstract
A ‘miniaturized’ post-impact compression strength ( pics) test has been used to measure the properties of thermosetting (toughened epoxy) and thermoplastic (polyetheretherketone ( peek)) matrix carbon fibre-reinforced laminates. For low impact energies the superior performance of the peek matrix material is confirmed. In addition a correlation between damage width and pics has been found for both materials tested. When compared on this basis it is apparent that the two materials perform in a very similar manner during the compression part of the test. Following from this we conclude that the superior performance of the peek matrix material is almost entirely due to its resistance to the initiation and propagation of damage during impact.
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