Solid particle erosion of CFRP composite with different laminate orientations

The solid particle erosion behavior of epoxy base unidirectional and multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites was investigated. The erosion rates of these composites were evaluated at various impingement angles (15-90 degrees) with a particle velocity of 70 m/s. Irregular SiC particles with an average diameter of 80 mu m was used. The dependence of impingement angle on the erosive wear resembled the conventional ductile behavior with maximum erosion rate at 15-30 degrees impingement angle. The erosion rate of unidirectional composites at acute impingement angle was higher for [90] than for [45] and [0] while the difference disappeared at normal impingement angle (90 degrees). On the other hand, the erosion rates of multidirectional laminated composites ([0/90], [45/-45], [90/30/-30] and [0/60/-60]) were not much influenced by the fiber orientation except for 15 degrees impingement angle. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.