Experimental Study on Impact Damage Modes of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Resin Matrix Composite Laminates

Drop-weight impact tests were conducted on two kinds of carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates(T300/5405 and T700/5428) under different impact energy conditions. External damage form, internal damage form and fiber/resin micro-interface shear strength were detected, and the impact damage modes of two kinds of carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates were analyzed. The test results indicate that, when impact load reaches some degree, for T300/5405, the fiber will be broken because of the lower tensile strength of T300, so the damage mode is mainly penetrating; for T700/5428, even though the fiber/resin micro-interface shear strength is higher than that of T300/5405, the interface of T700/5428 is broken in advance of fiber because of the higher tensile strength of T700, so the damage mode is mainly laminating.