Investigation on ablative process of CFRP laminates under laser irradiations

Developing an accurate predictive model for laser ablation of laminated carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites is an important and yet challenging task. In this paper, we studied the thermomechanical response of a CFRP laminate under both continuous-wave and pulsed laser irradiations with large spot size. A heat transfer/birth–death element model and a sequential temperature-displacement coupling framework were established to investigate the ablation and delamination phenomena, respectively. The simulation results were found to be quantitatively consistent with the experimental observations in terms of ablation area size and depth. Moreover, it is revealed that the thermal stress induced interface damage is highly dependent on the material anisotropy and layering orientation of the CFRP laminates. The proposed thermomechanical model can be used to decipher the interplay between temperature induced ablation and stress triggered interface cracking under given laser ablation parameters.