Detailed characterization of voids in multidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy composite laminates using X-ray micro-computed tomography

We employed X-ray micro-computed tomography to generate an extensive dataset of void characteristics in carbon/epoxy laminates with different stacking sequences. The voids were deliberately induced by modifying the material's cure cycle. The obtained three-dimensional images demonstrating voids were segmented and quantified using an in-house software package, VoxTex. The void characteristics, i.e. shape, size parameters, orientation, and spatial distribution, were obtained for analysis. It was found that voids are typically elongated features, aligned with the neighboring fibers. The majority of voids had slightly flattened cross-sections. The voids preferred to localize in the inner plies of the laminate, rather than in the outer ones. Near the laminate mid-thickness, they became more elongated. The stacking sequence was found to affect the size and shape of voids, with the void content being higher for a thicker laminate. The planar location of voids is not random and tends to create a pattern, corresponding to the ply orientations in the laminate. The data gathered during this study has been reported in detail and can be used, for example, as input for studies modeling similar composites with voids. The entire micro-CT data is presented as a Data in Brief article in [1].