Pulsed laser damage threshold evaluation of a carbon fiber composite skin and its effects on internal substrates

•Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) could be laser drilled using fiber lasers.•The CFRP threshold damage energy for a pulsed beam is 0.8 J.•A focused beam can damage internal structures when the energy exceeds 2 J.•The results indicate some beam energy levels for direct energy weapons. Carbon f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Optics and laser technology Vol. 143; p. 107304
Main Authors:	Ligabo, Isabela Atílio, Mota de Siqueira, Rafael Humberto, de Andrade Ferreira, Caroline Cristine, Braga, Vagner, Lima, Milton Sergio Fernandes de
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2021 Elsevier BV
Subjects:	Ablation Carbon fiber reinforced plastics Carbon fibers Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic Copper Damage assessment Direct energy weapons Fiber lasers Glass fiber reinforced plastics Glass-epoxy composites Infrared lasers Laser beams Laser damage Laser drilling Laser weapons Lasers Machinability Optical damage threshold Pulsed lasers Substrates Yield point Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic Direct energy weapons Laser drilling Optical damage threshold
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Summary:	•Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) could be laser drilled using fiber lasers.•The CFRP threshold damage energy for a pulsed beam is 0.8 J.•A focused beam can damage internal structures when the energy exceeds 2 J.•The results indicate some beam energy levels for direct energy weapons. Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) have machinability issues, even using high quality laser beams. Since CFRP composes the skin of many aerial equipments, its damage threshold must be assessed in order to consider the vulnerability to laser weapons. This work uses an infrared Yb:fiber laser beam with a quality (M2) of nine in three power levels 400, 700 or 1000 W. The CFRP damage threshold for a focused laser beam was 0.8 J, which is sufficient to create a 0.1 mm hole in the 1 mm plate skin. When the incident energy exceeds 4 J the entire beam pass through the hole and damage the internal substrate. The simulated internal structure is a plate of glass fiber-epoxy composite (GFRP) coated with copper (Cu-GFE). The ablation threshold for the composite was 3.3 J and the board was perforated when the energy is higher than 20 J. If the Cu-layer faced the incident beam the damage threshold was 2 J. According to the analyses, the Cu-coated substrate was more susceptible to ablation because of the explosive boiling at the interface between Cu and the composite. The current results show a relatively cheap fiber laser could be used as a directional energy weapon as long as fine focusing and residence time could be assured.
ISSN:	0030-3992 1879-2545
DOI:	10.1016/j.optlastec.2021.107304