Laser shock a novel way to generate calibrated delamination in composites: concept and first results

Abstract

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has been gaining importance in recent years. SHM aims at providing structures with similar functionality as the biological nervous system and it is organized into four main steps: detection, localization, assessment, and prognosis. This paper considers SHM assessment level and more particularly the estimation of the severity of delamination-type damage in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) laminates. Prior to quantification algorithms implementation, it is critical to properly prepare the supports on which algorithms will be tested. Teflon inserts and conventional drop tower impacts are commonly used techniques in the SHM community to generate or simulate delaminations. However with such techniques it is difficult to generate controlled delaminationtype damage in a realistic manner. Conventional impacts do not necessarily induce uniquely delamination-type damage. Teflon inserts still remain very far from representing a realistic delamination. In the present paper we investigate Laser Shock Wave Technique (LSWT), a new way to generate controlled delaminations in composites. In particular, the symmetrical laser shock approach was applied to CFRP laminates in order to generate delamination-type damage in a calibrated and realistic way. A particular attention was paid to the effect of time delay and laser beams energies on damage position and severity respectively. Post-mortem analyses were performed to characterize the induced damage. Results show a high potential of LSWT for damage calibration in both size and location.