Characterization of indentation damage on carbon/epoxy laminates by means of acoustic emission and IR thermography

Acoustic emission and transient IR thermography have been used to study and compare the performance of carbon/epoxy laminates, subjected to two different indentation procedures in a three-point flexural rig, one with a supporting steel plate and the other in a free bending mode. The study of 2-D localisation plots and cumulative counts vs. time curves allowed clarifying, with the essential support of the thermograms and of optical microscopy, that both test configurations are able to represent and possibly replace a low impact testing procedure, with the main difference of having a variable flexural component into loading.