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The purpose of this paper is to develop a laser shock adhesion test (LASAT) and evaluate its ability to reveal various bond qualities of stuck carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) industrial assemblies.

Four grades of adhesion were prepared by release agent contamination of CFRP prior to assembly. Laser shots were performed at different intensities on these samples.

To characterize and quantify the damage created by the propagation of shock waves in the bonded material, several diagnoses were used (confocal microscopy, ultra-sound inspection and cross-sections microscopy). These three post-mortem techniques are complementary and provide consistent results.

The combination of these diagnoses along with the LASAT technique provides relevant information on the bond quality in agreement with GIC values measured by the University of Patras.

The purpose of this paper is to study the damage induced in “green” and synthetic composites under impact loading.

The study was focussed on epoxy-based composites reinforced with woven hemp or glass fibres. Six assessment techniques were employed in order to analyse and compare impact damages: eye observation, back face relief, terahertz spectroscopy, laser vibrometry, x-ray micro-tomography and microscopic observations.

Different damage detection thresholds for each material and technique were obtained. Damage induced by mechanical and laser impacts showed relevant differences, but the damage mechanisms are similar in both types of impact: matrix cracks, fibre failure, debonding at the fibres/matrix interface and delamination. Damage shape on back surfaces is similar after mechanical or laser impacts, but differences were detected inside samples.

The combination of these six diagnoses provides complementary information on the damage induced by mechanical or laser impacts in the studied green and synthetic composites.