Resumen de A contribution to the understanding of compression after impact of composite laminates
The threat of impact on laminated composite structures has been a serious concern in the aerospace industry and scientific community because the compression load-carrying capacity of the structures, namely Compression After Impact (CAI) strength, is severely impaired. The CAI strength reduction can reach as high as 60% for a typical advanced composite made of unidirectional carbon fibre laminae.
The starting hypothesis of this thesis is that it is possible to improve the CAI strength by properly designing their layup, known as stacking sequence. Due to the complex impact damage morphology, little is known about how to tailor such a stacking sequence. Contributing to this research line is the single aim of this PhD thesis.
