The shock and spallation behavior of a carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the shock and spallation behavior of a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite has been studied using the plate-impact technique. The free surface velocity of the sample was monitored by a dual-laser Doppler pin system (DPS). The results showed that a steady shock front can be achieved and propagated in the composites. However, due to the stress wave dispersion and attenuation, the peak particle velocity was attenuated with propagation distance and became even more apparent as impact velocity increased. In addition, the shock Hugoniot curves were computed and compared with experimental results, and the CFRP was found to be stiffer than the materials cited in the references in the range of 1.5–5.3 GPa. Meanwhile, the spall strengths of the composites were observed to increase with increasing strain rates within the test range. Finally, the soft recovered samples were examined by macroscopic and microscopic analysis and it was found that the fracture surface revealed an envelope of matrix and fiber/matrix interface delamination, indicating that both sites were equally prone to fracture.