Laser-induced cratering of a 3DCC material at mesoscale: Experiments and simulations

Abstract

This study concerns the damaging of a 3-Dimension Carbon/Carbon (3DCC) composite material under dynamic loading. Experiments were performed with a laser facility delivering energies between 13 and 40 J with 100 nanoseconds pulse duration. The focal spot diameter was 250 μm, leading to dynamic pressure up to 10 GPa. The focal spot being smaller than the size of the composite components, it allows us to study the dynamic behaviour of the material at mesoscopic scale. The dynamic process of this cratering is then investigated via 3D numerical simulations, and a Johnson-Holmquist model is proposed. It appears that comparison of simulations with experimental results is useful to identify the dynamic strength of individual components of composite materials.