J Mater Sci Technol ›› 2005, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (01): 87-91.

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Cure Pressure Induced Voids on the Mechanical Strength of Carbon/Epoxy Laminates

Ling LIU, Boming ZHANG, Zhanjun WU, Dianfu WANG   

  1. Center for Composite Materials, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
  • Received:1900-01-01 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:2005-01-28 Published:2009-10-10
  • Contact: Boming ZHANG

Abstract: This work aims at designing a set of curing pressure routes to produce laminates with various void contents. The effects of various consolidation pressures resulting in different void contents on mechanical strength of carbon/epoxy laminates have been examined. Characterization of the voids, in terms of void volume fraction, void distribution, size, and shape, was performed by standard test, ultrasonic inspection and metallographic analysis. The interlaminar shear strength was measured by the short-beam method. An empirical model was used to predict the strength vs porosity. The predicted strengths conform well with the experimental data and voids were found to be uniformly distributed throughout the laminate.

Key words: Carbon/epoxy laminates, Autoclave curing, Void, Mechanical strength