Thermographic Characterization of Damage Evolution in Polymer Matrix Composites

초록

The tensile failure behavior of glass fiber reinforced epoxy polymer matrix composites (PMCs) was characterized using infrared camera. In order to monitor tensile damage evolution of PMC sample, a high-speed infrared camera was used to measure surface temperature changes during tensile testing. Through the thermographic image analysis, crack initiation and propagation were qualitatively monitored. Moreover, the thermographic images provided the information on fracture mode and mechanisms in PMC sample. After tensile testing, the microstructural characterization using SEM was performed on tensile fractured specimens. The SEM characterization results were comparable with in-situ monitored IR camera analysis results. In this investigation, an IR camera and SEM characterization method were used to facilitate a better understanding of damage evolution and failure mode of PMC materials during tensile testing.