An experimental method to assess the thermo-mechanical damage of CFRP subjected to a highly energetic 1.07 μm-wavelength laser irradiation

Laser systems present a promising way to protect military but also civilian people from a growing aerial threat represented by the increasing use of drones in the last decade. In this sense, the study of the thermo-mechanical behavior of aeronautic materials subjected to powerful electromagnetic fluxes is of critical meaning for a better understanding of the deterioration process leading to the neutralization of this flying menace. The surface and in-depth thermodynamic behaviors of laminates composed of an epoxy matrix and of carbon reinforcement fabrics are investigated at typical laser weapon power densities. An experimental heterogeneous deterioration phenomenology is figured out from several tests including two thermal characterization experiments and a cantilever bending test with a simultaneous irradiation. A theoretical model is built up to validate the experimental observations and can be considered as a first approach to simulate the thermo-mechanical weakening of carbon fibers laminates subjected to a laser irradiation.