Damage characterization of carbon fiber/epoxy composite under laser irradiation and tangential flow

The damage effects of CW laser on carbon fiber/epoxy composite were studied experimentally at 0.5, 0.85 Mach airflow and no airflow on material surface. Through the thermal weight loss curves of epoxy, carbon fiber and carbon fiber/epoxy composite analysis, the rear surface temperatures and the ablation patterns were compared. The results show that because of material combustion prevented and cooling effect, the damage zone is bigger, the last temperature is higher and the time of the temperature rise is longer under no airflow condition. When the flow speed ranges from 0.5 Mach to 0.85 Mach, the damage difference of carbon fiber/epoxy composite irradiated by CW laser is not obvious.