Damage Analysis for Composite Materials: Methods, Testing and Evaluation

Dear Colleagues,

After the stone, the bronze, and the iron ages, material history is now in the composites age. Thanks to their unique characteristics, composites are widely used in the production of parts for a large number of final products.

In the production process of composite parts, circular hole drilling may be necessary to allow their assembly and incorporation into complex sets, using screws, bolts, pins, rivets or snap springs. These operations are currently carried out by machining, as drilling is widely used. In the drilling process, delamination is the most frequent damage and can reduce the load-bearing capacity of the parts.

The optimization of drilling parameters, the development of specific tool geometries, and the consequences in terms of damage caused by machining have been extensively studied recently. However, there are still some open issues addressing damage extension assessment and the outcomes on load bearing capacity and fatigue behavior that deserve research and discussion.

This Special Issue is intended to act as a contributor to this discussion and to future developments on this theme.

The analysis of the damage propagation process in these materials and damage evaluation methods based on data extracted via image processing of holes machined in composites are of prime importance. Normally, the machined holes are analyzed by different NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) based on visual inspection, microscopy, digital enhanced radiography, ultrasound, active and passive thermography, laser shearography, and digital image correlation. The images resulting from the NDT are processed by diverse means to establish a numerical assessment of the damage. The use of NDTs and the correlation between damage extension and bearing load properties is a major driving theme that will be deeply discussed in this Special Issue.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Luís Miguel Pereira Durão
Dr. Nuno Calçada Loureiro
Guest Editors

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