Repairing damaged composite laminates using carbon fiber reinforced bulk mold compound

This work used short carbon fibers (SCFs) of different lengths to manufacture epoxy bulk mold compound (BMC) composites. Drop-weight-impact tests were performed on the intact carbon-fiber-reinforced-polymers (CFRPs) laminates to generate artificial damage. The damaged CFRP laminates were then repaired using the SCF-BMC composites. Compression after impact (CAI) tests were conducted to measure the compressive strength of the repaired laminates. Tensile properties and compressive properties of the SCF-BMC composites were also measured. The results show that 48-mm carbon fibers result in the largest tensile modulus, tensile strength, and compressive strength, while 12-mm carbon fibers result in the largest compressive modulus. CAI test results show that the compressive strength of the repaired laminate can be restored to 80.3% of that of the undamaged laminate. Therefore, SCF-BMC composites significantly contribute to repairing damaged composite laminates.