Damage mechanism and bending properties degradation of aviation composite honeycomb sandwich structures under laser irradiation

•The internal micro-damage morphology of honeycomb sandwich structure under laser irradiation is studied.•The laser damage mechanism of honeycomb sandwich structure is established.•The bending performance degradation and progressive damage process of honeycomb sandwich structure under laser damage are explored. Damage mechanism and bending properties degradation of aviation composite honeycomb sandwich structures are studied under different laser conditions in this paper. Firstly, the damage test of composite honeycomb sandwich structures is conducted. Temperature field and ablation process during laser irradiation are analyzed. Damage morphology and mechanism are verified. Secondly, the influence of laser damage on the bending properties of composite honeycomb panels is studied. Progressive damage process and failure mechanism of honeycomb structures during loading are explored by digital image correlation (DIC) and strain trend. The results show that the temperature at the center point of front surface reaches more than 2000 °C within 1 s under the laser irradiation, while the temperature of back surface exhibits hysteresis. The ablation hole is funnel-shaped and has severe delamination. In the heat affected zone (HAZ), resin matrix has been basically sublimated and oxidized, leaving only carbon fiber bundles and some residual carbon. The honeycomb core in this area has been completely carbonized and deformed. During bending process, the honeycomb core breaks firstly, and strain appears peak at both crack ends, leading the crack extend along both sides. The ultimate load of damaged specimen is 2.35kN, which has a 42.26 % drop compared to that of healthy specimen 4.07kN. Bending properties of specimen are significantly degraded by laser damage.