Compression after impact strength of out-of-autoclave processed laminates

Abstract

Out-of-autoclave processable fiber/resin systems have been gaining much attention due to the elimination of needing a costly autoclave large enough to hold the part to be cured. For large composite structures this can pose a challenge. However, for these fiber/resin systems to replace conventional autoclave fiber/resin systems for use on aerospace structures, the damage tolerance capabilities need to meet (or exceed) those of current autoclave fiber/resin systems. In this experimental study, compression-after-impact strengths of two commercially available out-of-autoclave fiber/resin systems are compared to compression-after-impact strengths of a conventional autoclave fiber/resin system used as a baseline in this study. compression-after-impact testing was chosen since this is the most common method to assess laminates damage tolerance capabilities. Three different levels of impact severity were chosen and information on damage size and morphology are assessed along with compression-after-impact strength values. The results show the two out-of-autoclave fiber/resin systems examined in this study have similar damage tolerance characteristics to the autoclave fiber/resin system used in this study.