Damage Tolerance Of Candidate Thermoset Composites For Use On Single Stage To Orbit Vehicles

Abstract: Four fiber/resin systems were compared for resistance to damage and damage tolerance. One toughened epoxy and three toughened bismaleimide (BMI) resins were used, all with IM7 carbon fiber reinforcement. A statistical design of experiments technique was used to evaluate the effects of impact energy, specimen thickness, and tup diameter on the damage area as computed by C-scans, and residual compression-after-impact (CAI) strength. Results showed that two of the BMI systems sustained relatively large damage zones yet had an excellent retention of CAI strength.