Although the investigation of thermal damage in composite materials has increased, the short-term thermal degradation and decomposition mechanisms in a non-oxidative environment have not been well established, as the reported thermal damage results were heavily influenced by the analyses of delicately collected volatiles and the presence of oxygen. The aim of this study, using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry, along with kinetics, was to develop a post-mortem solid residual-based microscopic characterising methodology for thermal damage in carbon/epoxy composites induced by simulated lightning strikes. Fibre tufting, resin sublimation and discolouration were found to represent the severity of damage in three damage zones. Whilst fibre tufting was caused not by thermal sublimation but by returning shock waves, resin sublimation and discolouration were dominated by Joule heating. The carbon concentration in the damaged zones was found to radially decrease outwards and vice versa with oxygen. Decomposition started from epoxy dehydration, accompanied by discolouration and formation of water and carbonyl, and released chemical compounds like 2-propenal, acetylene and carbonyl-containing aromatic ether. The successful identification of these unique heating-formed functional groups provided the confirmation of the proposed methodology.

尽管对复合材料热损伤的研究有所增加，但在非氧化环境中的短期热降解和分解机理尚未得到很好的建立，因为所报告的热损伤结果受到对精细收集的挥发物和氧气的存在。这项研究的目的是使用扫描电子显微镜，傅立叶变换红外光谱和热重分析以及动力学，开发一种基于事后固体残留的微观表征方法，用于模拟雷击引起的碳/环氧树脂复合材料的热损伤。发现纤维簇绒，树脂升华和变色代表了三个损伤区域中的损伤严重程度。纤维簇绒不是由热升华引起的，而是由返回的冲击波引起的，而树脂的升华和变色则主要由焦耳加热引起。发现在受损区域中的碳浓度随着氧气径向向外降低，反之亦然。分解从环氧脱水开始，伴随着水和羰基的脱色和形成，并释放出化学化合物，例如2-丙烯，乙炔和含羰基的芳族醚。这些独特的加热形成的官能团的成功鉴定提供了所提出方法的证实。分解从环氧脱水开始，伴随着水和羰基的脱色和形成，并释放出化学化合物，例如2-丙烯，乙炔和含羰基的芳族醚。这些独特的加热形成的官能团的成功鉴定提供了所提出的方法的证实。分解从环氧脱水开始，伴随着水和羰基的脱色和形成，并释放出化学化合物，例如2-丙烯，乙炔和含羰基的芳族醚。这些独特的加热形成的官能团的成功鉴定提供了所提出的方法的证实。