Low-velocity impact response and infrared radiation characteristics of thermoplastic/thermoset composites

The low-velocity impact response and infrared radiation characteristics of composites have rarely been focused on simultaneously. This study aims to investigate the low-velocity impact response and infrared radiation characteristics of the glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic polypropylene and carbon fiber reinforced thermosetting epoxy resin laminates wildly used in the aircraft industry. The impact tests were conducted at five energy levels. Characterization parameters such as impact load, displacement, and absorbed energy were measured. The damage evolution and damage modes of the laminates were analyzed through active and passive thermography, ultrasonic C-scan, and optical microscope. The results indicate that Thermosets (TS) laminates exhibit better impact resistance, while Thermoplastics (TP) laminates show higher delamination ductility, and the maximum contact force of TP laminates is much smaller than that of the TS laminates under low-velocity impacts, but the low bending stiffness and low ductility of the TP matrix cause the difference in energy absorption level between the two not significant. The temperature characteristic changes of passive infrared thermography heat maps could characterize the damage mode of the laminates. The correlation between the heat maps and the impact characteristic curves is explained; the fluctuation of the impact characteristic curves is directly related to the hot spot characteristics changes of the heat maps. More frequent curve fluctuations correspond to a larger and brighter hot spot on the heat map, which peaks at the maximum impact load after the impact force versus time curve fluctuation cutoff point, the maximum center displacement of the impact force versus displacement curve, and the maximum absorbed energy of the absorbed energy versus time curve.