Perforation of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials Subjected to High-Energy Laser

Composite materials are increasingly used in both, civil and military aerospace structures. High-energy lasers are currently developed and deployed to the military forces of various countries around the globe. It is therefore of importance to understand how composite materials react to high-energy laser irradiation. This manuscript collects the publicly available data with focus on perforation times. As data in these manuscripts is not presented in a uniform fashion, comparisons are difficult. Therefore, the data is transformed into data sets that can directly be correlated. The data presented in this manuscript displays the relationship between laser power and volume removal rate, thus eliminating effects of target thickness or beam diameter.