Nanoscale crack initiation and propagation in carbon fiber/epoxy composites using synchrotron: 3D image data

Crack initiation and propagation in carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) was observed in situ under the application of an opening load using nondestructive synchrotron radiation X-ray computed tomography (nanoscopic SR X-CT) at a high spatial resolution of ~50 nm. Two datasets of reconstructed and segmented images were produced in typical regions, namely in the thin and thick epoxy regions where the resin thickness between the adjacent carbon fibers was small and large, respectively. The CT measurements were conducted at the NW2A beamline of the Photon Factory Advanced Ring (PF-AR) synchrotron facility using the nanoscopic SR X-CT instrument (Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Japan).