In order to better understand the damage tolerance of reinforced composite plates, the impact damage of the reinforced composite plates was investigated under low-velocity impact test. The experimental results show that the impact of different positions and energies causes different degrees of damage to the specimens, including but not limited to ply fracture, internal delamination of the skin, and debonding of the stiffeners and skin. After impacting, the specimens were tested in an axial compression. The results show that the ultimate bearing capacity of the specimen is also affected by different forms of impact. The impact point has the greatest influence on the specimen while it locates at the intersection of longitudinal and transverse bars. Compared with the intact specimen, the ultimate load carrying capacity was reduced by 16.83% and 44.02%, while the specimen impacted by 15 J and 30 J, respectively. The compression failure mode of the damaged specimen is mainly the breakage of the stiffeners and the delamination of the skin.

Resin matrix composites (RCs) have better thermal and chemical stability, so they are widely used in engineering fields. In this study, the aging process and mechanism of two different types of resin-based three-dimensional four-way braided composites (H15 and S15) under different hygrothermal aging conditions were studied. The effect of aging behavior on the mechanical properties of RCs was also studied. Three different aging conditions were studied: Case I, 40 °C Soak; Case II, 70 °C Soak; and Case III, 70 °C-85% relative humidity (RH). It was found that the hygroscopic behavior of RCs in the process of moisture-heat aging conforms to Fick’s second law. Higher temperatures and humidity lead to higher water absorption. The equilibrium hygroscopic content of H15 was 1.46% (Case II), and that of S15 was 2.51% (Case II). FT-IR revealed the different hygroscopic mechanisms of H15 and S15 in terms of aging behavior. On the whole, the infiltration behavior of water molecules is mainly exhibited in the process of wet and thermal aging. At the same time, the effect of the aging process on resin matrices was observed using SEM. It was found that the aging process led to the formation of microchannels on the substrate surface of S15, and the formation of these channels was the main reason for the better moisture absorption and lower mechanical strength of S15. At the same time, this study further found that temperature and oxygen content are the core influences on post-aging strength. The LVI experiment also showed that the structural changes and deterioration effects occurring after aging reduced the strength of the studied material.

The low delamination tendency and high damage tolerance of three-dimensional (3D) braided composites highlight their significant potential in handling defects. To enhance the engineering potential of three-dimensional four-directional (3D4d) braided composites and assess the failure mode of hole defects, this study introduces a series of 3D4d braided composites with prefabricated holes, studying their compressive properties and failure mechanisms through experimental and finite element methods. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used to monitor the compressive strain on the surface of materials. Scanning acoustic microscope (SAM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the longitudinal compression failure mode inside the material. A macroscopic model is established, and the porous materials are predicted by using the general braided composite material prediction theory. While reducing the forecast cost, the error is also controlled within 21%. The analysis of failure mechanisms elucidates the damage extension mode, and the porous damage tolerance ability aligns closely with the bearing mode of braided material structure. Different braiding angles will lead to different bearing modes of materials. Under longitudinal compression, the average strength loss of 15° specimens is 38.21%, and that of 30° specimens is 8.1%. The larger the braided angle, the stronger the porous damage tolerance. Different types of prefabricated holes will also affect their mechanical properties and damage tolerance.

In this study, the mechanical properties of non-crimp fabric (NCF) composite laminates under low-velocity impact and compression after impact (CAI) tests were studied by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Digital image correlation (DIC) techniques. The impact response under different impact times, impact angles, and impact distance is studied. Similarly, in CAI test, DIC technique is used to reveal the whole process of NCF composite compression failure, and SEM is used to reveal the microscopic failure form. The experimental results show that the impact damage process of NCF composites has strong directivity. The concrete manifestation is that the internal failure will extend along the paving direction at the failure layer. The peak load generated under 20 J impact energy is about 1/2 of that under 40 J impact energy. The impact distance is one of the important factors affecting the coupling effect of multiple impacts, and the impact angle has little effect on the internal damage extension. The proportion of internal damage area also supports the relevant view, that is, the average difference in the proportion of internal damage area under different impact distance is about 5%, while the average difference in the proportion of internal damage area under different impact angles is about 3%. During the compression process, the main failure mode is shear failure and the failure mode is brittle fracture. The oblique fracture occurs only when the oblique is 45° and the impact distance is large (50 mm). The impact angle has little effect on the residual compression performance of NCF.