Erosion damage features of polyimide thermoset composites

The effect of liquid jet impingement on the surface integrity of three high temperature polyimide composites was investigated. Polyimide composites with matrices of PMR15, Matrimid 5292 BMI and PMR-II-20 were subjected to an erosive water jet normal to the laminate surface. The carbon fiber reinforcement was the same in each composite, i.e., Celion G30-500, 3k tow, 8 HS. The erosive water slurry consisted primarily of ferruso-ferric oxide, crushed quartz, Arizona road dust, salt, and lint. The slurry concentration of solids was 0.0406 grams per gram of water. In the experiment, each composite was exposed to a 10 m/s jet of erosive slurry for 1500 hours