Study on interlock 3X damage mechanisms under impact loading using a deformable impactor

Analyzing damage mechanisms when a deformable impactor is impacting a reinforced 3D woven composite is aimed in this work. Low energy impact are considered in this soft shock situation using a drop test tower. Materials involved in this study are hemispherical elastomer impactors and carbon fibers in RTM 6 resin for the composite target plate. Elastomer impactors with different hardness and diameters on the one hand and composite plates with different degrees of reinforcement in the thickness on the other hand are available for this study. The experimental measurements are particularly highlighted here. High speed cameras are used and investigations are performed to adapt Digital Image Correlation method in impact situation using Corelli STC software. First results are presented in this paper proving the feasability. They are very encouraging for the future serie of tests to be considered with various impact conditions.