Damage and residual strength of laminated carbon-epoxy composite circular plates loaded at the centre

The research dealt with the characterization of damage in quasi-isotropic carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin laminate loaded at the centre. Load was applied by means of a servo hydraulic machine and it was supposed to simulate a low velocity impact. The acoustic emission (AE) technique was used to detect damage progression. Tensile resistance after indentation was investigated and correlated with acoustic emissions parameters. This was been done for different lamination sequences on specimens cut from the damaged plates. A numerical model to predict both the first ply failure (FPF) and the ultimate ply failure (UPF) of the laminate was developed by means of the ANSYS((R)) software. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.