Compressive damage and heat release of composite laminate with circular prefabricated defect, part I-experimental method

This paper focuses on the compressive delamination and its corresponding heat release of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite laminates with circular delamination defects. First, the compressive process of the composite laminates with the prefabricated polytetrafluoroethylene film at the center between the outermost and sub-outermost layers is observed and recorded by CMOS (complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor) camera which is used for image acquisition in digital image correlation (DIC) and the infrared thermal imager. Second, both the deformation fields and the temperature fields before and after surface damage of laminates are analyzed. Finally, the influences of the circular prefabricated defect's size on the strength and the energy dissipation are investigated. This work will provided an important experimental basis in evaluating the internal damage of laminate composite.