Flax-fibre composites are increasingly used as a replacement of classical synthetic composite materials. Due to the good energy absorption properties of flax fibres, they represent a promising alternative in structures susceptible to low velocity impact (LVI) damage. However, this type of dynamic loading is complex, expensive to perform and not necessarily easy to fully investigate. A simpler way to tackle this problem consists in investigating quasi-static indentation (QSI) tests, but this alternative remains relatively under-researched for natural fibre composites. Thus, this paper aims at providing a comparison between both types of loading to facilitate the later analysis and modelling of flax fabric laminates submitted to LVI. Six layers of a flax 2/2 twill fabric were used as reinforcement for epoxy laminates made through vacuum infusion. Specimens were then submitted to instrumented LVI and QSI tests at comparable energy levels, with a 1.5 %–3.9 % difference only. Load-displacement curves and visible damage were first analysed and compared between both test types. Then, the internal damage within QSI specimens were investigated using acoustic emission (AE). Our findings showed good analogies between both testing methods in all the stages of damage development. Great similarities were found in load-displacement curves (in shape, stiffness and peak load), in energy absorption capacity (at 5 and 10 J) and in visible damage. Actually, the differences between QSI and LVI remain low, i.e. 2.1 % for linear stiffness, from 0.2 to 5.6 % for peak load and less than 7% for the proportions of absorbed energy. Comparison of the QSI damage analysed from the AE data with LVI results from literature suggested similar mechanisms and onset sequences. These results revealed that QSI monitoring could provide characteristic indications on the damage evolution of flax-fibre woven composites during an LVI test.

亚麻纤维复合材料越来越多地用作替代经典合成复合材料。由于亚麻纤维良好的能量吸收特性，它们代表了易受低速冲击 (LVI) 损坏的结构的有前途的替代品。然而，这种类型的动态加载很复杂，执行起来很昂贵，而且不一定容易进行全面调查。解决这个问题的一个更简单的方法是研究准静态压痕 (QSI) 测试，但这种替代方法对于天然纤维复合材料的研究相对不足。因此，本文旨在提供两种加载类型之间的比较，以方便以后对提交给 LVI 的亚麻织物层压板进行分析和建模。六层亚麻 2/2 斜纹织物被用作通过真空灌注制成的环氧树脂层压板的增强材料。然后将样本提交给具有可比能量水平的仪器化 LVI 和 QSI 测试，仅存在 1.5%–3.9% 的差异。首先分析和比较两种测试类型的载荷-位移曲线和可见损伤。然后，使用声发射 (AE) 研究 QSI 试样内的内部损坏。我们的研究结果表明，两种测试方法在损伤发展的所有阶段都具有很好的类比性。在载荷-位移曲线（形状、刚度和峰值载荷）、能量吸收能力（5 和 10 J）和可见损伤方面发现了很大的相似性。实际上，QSI 和 LVI 之间的差异仍然很小，即线性刚度为 2.1%，峰值载荷为 0.2% 至 5.6%，吸收能量比例小于 7%。从 AE 数据分析的 QSI 损伤与来自文献的 LVI 结果的比较表明类似的机制和发作序列。这些结果表明，QSI 监测可以为 LVI 测试期间亚麻纤维编织复合材料的损伤演变提供特征指示。