Failure behaviour of cross-ply carbon fibre/epoxy laminates subjected to transverse impact and static perforation

Cross-ply carbon fibre reinforced epoxy laminates (CF/EP) were toughened with interleaf consisting of random PET fibre mat embedded in a modified epoxy resin. The interleaved laminate had a smaller delamination area but higher energy absorption than the base laminate during transverse impact perforation. In static tests, the interleaved laminate had a higher maximum load and greater deformation at the perforation, compared to the base laminate. The damage development was monitored using acoustic emission technique. The interleaved laminate had less cumulative acoustic emission events than the base laminate. The distribution of the rise time was used to identify the major failure mechanisms.