Determination of impact damage severity level in Sheet Molding Compound composite material using thermography method - A preliminary study

Abstract

The need of better materials for rad-waste applications has led to the utilization of composite materials as one of the candidate materials for the storage container. One of the materials properties needed to be understood is an impact strength. This work highlights the study of damage severity levels in a Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) composite due to impact forces. The damage levels were measured by using a thermography method. The impact forces applied to test samples were in a range of 9.81J to 78.475J. It found that wide range of temperature contours observed as the level of the damage severity increased. © 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.