Predicting Delaminations and Residual Strength of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) After One-Sided Thermal Loading by Means of Infrared Spectroscopy

This study investigates the change of chemical, structural, and mechanical properties of carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) after one-sided thermal loading. Therefore, CFRP samples (HexPly® 8552/IM7) with varying thickness (4 and 8 mm) are irradiated at different heat fluxes (15, 30, and 50 kW/m2). For a depth-resolved view on matrix degradation inside the CFRP, infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) is applied along a ground incline plane. A change of structural properties in the form of developing delaminations is investigated with microfocused computed X-ray tomography (µCT). The loss of residual strength is determined by means of interlaminar shear strength testing (ILSS). The evaluation of the data shows that delaminations occur predominantly dependent on temperature and only beyond a certain level of matrix degradation traceable by IR spectroscopy. It is also shown that delaminations are mainly responsible for the loss of strength. Furthermore, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is performed to predict the presence of delaminations. This information provides a basis for a reliable prediction of the residual strength by IR spectroscopy after one-sided thermal loading.