Comparison of damage resistance of thermoplastic and thermoset carbon fibre-reinforced composites

The research presented in the article concerns the resistance to damage of thermosetting and thermoplastic fabric carbon composites. A comparison of these materials resistance was made on the basis of the results of residual strength tests which include impact tests and static compression of samples after impact. The impact tests consisted of two impact criteria: specimens impacted with energy adjusted to the specimen thickness, determined on the basis of ASTM D7136 (energy criterion) and specimens impacted in such a way so as to obtain a specific depth of indentation (indentation depth criterion). The specimens struck according to the indentation depth criterion were additionally divided into two subgroups: with the indentation depth of 1.3 mm and the indentation depth of 2.6 mm. In addition, after impact tests, each specimen was subjected to ultrasonic phased array testing in order to obtain information about the extent of the damage. Experimental results showed that with less impact energy, the thermoplastic laminate has a higher residual strength than the thermosetting composite. This difference decreases as the impact energy increases.