Abstract
In this study, vibrating energy dissipation pathways in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates with two different kinds of damage, that is, delaminations and transverse matrix cracks were respectively studied by using both experimental and numerical methods to investigate the effect of damage introduction into CFRP laminates on their vibration properties changes. This kind of study will be useful, for instance, for non-destructive damage inspections and health monitoring of composite laminated structures. From the results obtained in this study, natural frequencies for the bending first mode of vibration of simply-supported beams were found to be insensitive to the introduction of both types of damages, while damping ratios were nearly proportional to the increase of the degrees of both damages, which implies that damping measurement could be an effective means to detect damages in composite laminates. From the numerical (Finite element method) analysis were also conducted, and it was shown that transverse shear strain energy and contact frictions on the damage surfaces would play important roles in the energy dissipation of damaged composite laminates.
