Impact behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy and non-isothermal cyclic butylene terephthalate composites manufactured by vacuum infusion

Carbon fibre reinforced cyclic butylene terephthalate (CF-pCBT) composites non-isothermally processed by vacuum infusion starting from a one-component system have been successfully manufactured. Both the micro-structure and low-energy impact properties of the CF-pCBT have been investigated and compared with an epoxy system (CF-epoxy). The CF-pCBT composite presents higher solidification shrinkage than the CF-epoxy one, and its void content doubles that of the CF-epoxy. The CF-epoxy composite’s critical delamination threshold energy is slightly higher than that of the CF-pCBT, whereas the CF-pCBT composite absorbs twice as much energy before being penetrated. The lower interlaminar shear strength of the CF-pCBT composite is suggested to be the origin of its higher energy absorbing capability and less brittle behaviour.