AN IMAGE-ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE FOR EVALUATING INTERNAL DAMAGE IN GRAPHITE-FABRIC POLYIMIDE COMPOSITES/

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a possible technique for evalu ating internal damage in fabric-reinforced composite materials. The te chnique presented in this work is based on capturing and performing a qualitative analysis of scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of d amage from planar specimen slices (serial sections) and then reassembl ing the slices in three-dimensional space. This method has been applie d to evaluating damage in graphite-fabric/PMR-15 Iosipescu specimens t ested in shear. Three-dimensional damage maps have been presented and the extent of damage through the thickness of a graphite-fabric/PMR-15 losipescu specimen has been determined. The same approach could be us ed for the evaluation of internal damage in other composite systems. ( C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.