Effect of fibre damage on compressive strength of CFRP laminates

This work investigates the effects of fibre damage on compressive strength of CFRP laminates under compressive loading. To characterise the influence of fibre failure, parameters such as the length and depth of the damaged region are considered. 3D Finite Element models are created to reproduce the artificially damaged laminates and gain an initial understanding of how fibre damage may affect the specimens. Secondly, coupons are manufactured and tested in compression following ASTM D 7137. DIC equipment is employed to better visualise the behaviour of the loaded components and gain insight on the effects of the different damage configurations. The results show that although fibre damage reduces the compressive strength of the tested components, the configuration of such damage has little influence. Interestingly, damage configuration seems to play a pivotal role on the development of delamination and kinks at final failure.