Optical deformation analysis of the failure behavior of fiber reinforced polymers caused by laser processing

Near net shape preforms with a minimum of material consumption are required to increase the acceptance of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) in the industry. This should be accompanied by appropriate, fast and flexible processes. The remote laser process expands the area of possible processing strategies, wherefore the laser can be a tool for the future. However the development of remote laser processing is accompanied with the understanding of the interaction between tool and material as well as the influence of laser irradiation to the failure behavior of FRP, to which this paper contributes. A tensile testing procedure with an adapted specimen is introduced. Hence, the testing procedure is able to correlate the failure mode of inter fiber fracture as a function of laser cutting parameters. The investigations are accompanied by an optical deformation analysis to clarify the geometrical influences of the laser cutting contour.