The presence of voids has deleterious effects on the structural performance of composites. In general, voids decrease the static strength and lifetime under fatigue. The influence is more pronounced in the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), compressive strength, and others that are associated with matrix- dominated mechanical properties. This work reports the effect of porosity on the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of epoxy-impregnated carbon fabric and tape composites. Several laminates with different void content (porosity range of 0-12%) were prepared in a similar way. The composites were characterized by microscopy and ultrasonic inspection with the attenuation values being converted in absorption coefficients and correlated with ILSS results. The Mar-Lin fracture criterion provided a good fit to the experimental data and was deemed adequate to predict the strength of porous composites. It was observed that carbon fabric laminate with porosity level higher than 0.9% and carbon tape laminates with porosity above 0.75% led to the reduction of the mechanical strength.
Voids; composites; interlaminar shear strength; fracture criterion
