Residual Strength Evaluation after Impact Tests in Extreme Conditions on CFRP Laminates

Compression after impact tests were performed using a new apparatus, designed and realized by University of Naples “Federico II”, within the Solid Mechanics Program financed by ONR, that allow a more simple functioning and more reliable data respect to the one suggested by the ASTM D7137 Standard.Impact tests were carried out on carbon fibre in vinylester resin laminates of Naval interest, loaded when supported by the devise suggested by the EN6038 European Standard and also when supported by a water pillow, to investigate the influence of the water- material interaction.The results about the residual compression strength evaluation, obtained in different test conditions like increasing impact energy levels, different loading temperatures, different specimens thickness, were compared: they showed a negligible influence of the temperature, even if T = -25°C represents a crucial condition, evidencing a different trend. On the other side, a sensible influence of the load application was noted: the residual strength of the laminates tested on the water is sensibly higher than the one obtained by the traditional pure impact tests.