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The effects of irradiation time (IT), laser power (LP), and spot diameter (SD) on the damage caused to quartz ceramics under continuous-wave laser irradiation were investigated through an orthogonal experiment. The experimental results show that the LP has the dominant effect on the depth of an ablation pit, while the SD has the greatest impact on the diameter of the ablation centre. The diameter and depth of the ablation pit were both positively correlated to the irradiation energy. The bubbles and molten silica transition layer affected the laser beam's reflection and transmission properties, leading to the incident laser beam scattering into the entire ablation pit and forming an elliptical ablation pit. Furthermore, a 3D finite element (FE) model considering a dynamic heat source was developed to simulate the laser damage process. The shape and dimension of the ablation pit predicted by the FE model were consistent with those obtained through the experiment, demonstrating the effectiveness and rationality of the model. The FE analysis results show that the different ablation rates in the radial and depth directions significantly influence the morphology of the ablation pits. The temperature gradient in the transition region increases while the thickness of the transition region decreases as the LP increases. This indicates that a large LP will lead to greater thermal stress in this area and result in more microcracks.

In order to explore the effect of weld area and groove structure on the damage effect of laser irradiation on titanium alloy and ceramic coating, the experiment of continuous laser irradiation on welding seam and groove area of titanium alloy was studied, while the surfaces of the specimens were coated with or without anti-laser ceramic material. The following conclusions were obtained: the ceramic coating can protect the titanium alloy substrate from the damage of high power laser effectively; the laser resistance of ceramic coating on the welding seam area is weakened, but it still protects the titanium alloy effectively; the damage of laser on the edge and the corner structure of titanium alloy with groove structure is aggravated with the increasing of laser power density, and under the same laser density, the damage inside the groove is less than that outside, while that of corner is less than edge. Micromorphology results show that the ceramic coating undergoes a series of physical and chemical changes and phase transformation to absorb a large amount of thermal energy converted from luminous energy, which has a protective effect on the titanium alloy.

The ablation mechanism and performance of carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced poly aryl ether ketone (PAEK) thermoplastic composites were studied in this paper. The results show that the ablation damaged area is controlled by the irradiation energy, while the mass loss rate is controlled by the irradiation power density. In the ablation center, the PAEK resin and CFs underwent decomposition and sublimation in an anaerobic environment. In the transition zone, the resin experienced decomposition and remelting in an aerobic environment, and massive char leaves were present in the cross section. In the heat-affected zone, only remelting of the resin was observed. The fusion and decomposition of the resin caused delamination and pores in the composites. Moreover, oxygen appeared crucial to the ablation morphology of CFs. In an aerobic environment, a regular cross section formed, while in an anaerobic environment, a cortex–core structure formed. The cortex–core structure of CF inside the ablation pit was caused by the inhomogeneity of fibers along the radial direction and the residual carbon layer generated by resin decomposition in an anoxic environment. The description of the ablation mechanism presented in this study broadens our understanding of damage evolution in thermoplastic composites subjected to high-energy CW laser irradiation.

This work concentrated on the interlaminar mechanical properties and toughening mechanism of carbon fiber-reinforced bismaleimide resin (CF/BMI) composites modified by polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber films. The PAN nanofiber films were prepared by electrospinning. End-notched flexure (ENF) and short-beam strength tests were conducted to assess the mode II fracture toughness (GIIc) and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). The results showed that the GIIc and ILSS of PAN-modified specimens are 1900.4 J/m2 and 93.1 MPa, which was 21.4% and 5.4% higher than that of the virgin specimens (1565.5 J/m2 and 88.3 MPa), respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the fracture surface revealed that the PAN nanofiber films toughen the composite on two scales. On the mesoscopic scale, the composite laminates modified by PAN formed a resin-rich layer with high strength and toughness, which made the crack propagate across the layers. At the microscopic scale, the crack propagation between two-dimensional nanofiber films led to constant pull-out and breakage of the nanofibers. As a result, the interlaminar fracture toughness of the composite laminates improved.

This paper deals with three-point flexure tests on hybrid I- and Π-beams, made out of multi-layer carbon fiber/epoxy resin (including twill woven fabric CF3031/5284 and unidirectional cord fabric U3160/5284) reinforced composites, processed using the RTM (resin transfer molding) technique. Static bending properties were determined and failure initiation mechanism was deduced from experimental observations. Failure mode of the tested hybrid RTM-made I-beams can be reckoned to be characteristic of the delamination from the cutout edge within the web and the debonding propagation along the interface between the inverted triangular resin-rich zone and the adjacent curved web until local buckling within the curved webs around the conjunction fillet region. In contrast, as distinct from hybrid RTM I-beams subjected to three-point bending loading, hybrid RTM-made Π-beams in three-point flexure tests experienced the resin debonding in the inverted triangular resin-rich zones and the debonding propagation along the interface between the inverted triangular resin-rich zone and the adjacent curved web until complete separation of the curved web from the flange. Progressive damage models (PDMs) were presented to predict failure loads and process of hybrid RTM-made I- and Π-beams under three-point flexure. Good correlation was achieved between experimental and numerical results.

A resin transfer molding technique was used to fabricate thick-walled composite connecting rods, and then the mechanical performance of the connecting rod was studied experimentally, at the same time the stress and failure index distributions were simulated numerically. The experimental results show that under a tensile load, the connecting rod first cracks near the vertex of the triangle areas at the two ends, and then the damage propagates along the interface between the main bearing beam and the triangle area as well as along the round angle of the triangle area. Whereas under a compressive load, the delamination primarily occurs at the corner of the U-shaped flange, and the final destruction is caused by the fracture of fibers in the main bearing beam. The simulated results reveal that the tensile failure is originated from the delamination at the round angle transition areas of the T-joints, and the failure strength is determined by the interlaminar strength. Whereas the compressive failure is caused by the fracture of fibers in the main bearing beam, and the failure strength of the structure is determined by the longitudinal compressive strength of the composite material. The simulated results are basically consistent with the experimental results. Hence the mechanical performance and failure mechanism of the complicated composite structure are revealed in great detail through the coupling of the two kinds of research methods, which is helpful for the optimal design of composite structures.

This paper deals with static pull and push bending tests on two-dimensional (2D) orthogonal EW220/5284 twill weave fabric (TWF) composite tee-joints processed with the resin transfer moulding (RTM) technique. Static pull and push bending properties are determined and failure initiation mechanism is deduced from experimental observations. The experiments show that the failure initiation load, on average, is greater for push bending than for pull bending, whereas the scatter is smaller for push bending than for pull bending. The failure mode of RTM-made tee-joints in pull bending tests can be reckoned to be characteristic of debonding of resin matrix at the interface between the triangular resin-rich zone and the curved web of tee-joint until complete separation of the curved web from the bottom plate. In contrast, as distinct from the products subject to pull bending loading, the RTM tee-joints in push bending tests experience matrix cracking and fibre fracture from outer layers to inner layers of the bottom plate until catastrophic collapse resulting from the bending. Three-dimensional finite element (FE) models are presented to simulate the load transfer path and failure initiation mechanism of RTM-made TWF composite tee-joint based on the maximum stress criterion. Good correlation between experimental and numerical results is achieved.