Environmental fatigue behavior of non‐crimp,E‐glass fiber reinforced polyester composites for marine applications

This study is aimed to find the fatigue behavior of Glass Reinforced Plastics, a material which is a widely preferred material for small marine crafts, as well as several other applications. The type of composite tested is hand‐laid E‐glass non‐crimp reinforcements with an polyester resin matrix. The specimens were produced in two standard thicknesses and with these material directions and were tested both under atmospheric and simulated seawater environments for fatigue. It was seen that the results of fatigue lifetime obtained by testing the material in seawater is much lower than the results obtained from testing similar specimens under atmospheric conditions. However, the stress curves indicate the same slope, suggesting that the fatigue failure mechanism of both testing conditions is the same and the fiber‐related factors dominate. It was found that the thickness and material direction did not have a significant effect on the fatigue behavior of the material.     

Impact of compressive hold on out‐of‐phase thermomechanical fatigue crack growth in IN 718

Accurate characterization and understanding of the fatigue crack growth behaviour of components in jet turbine engines is critical for successfully using a damage tolerant design method to maximise safety and efficiency. The hot section components experience changing loads and temperatures, and hence, fatigue crack growth rates are typically studied under thermomechanical loading. One question that remains unclear is the role of the compressive holds that are often part of an aircraft loading‐temperature spectrum. This experimental study was undertaken to investigate a turbine disk alloy, Inconel 718, subjected to different cycling and temperature profiles considering different lengths of hot compressive holds to determine its effect on the fatigue crack growth rate. It was found that the addition of a compressive hold at temperatures from 650 to 725 °C has no significant impact on the fatigue crack growth rate when compared with a cycle without a compressive hold. Fractographic analysis shows that crack growth is primarily transgranular in all cases studied suggesting that grain boundary oxidation, often observed during hot tensile holds, is insignificant.     

Ecological criteria for the selection of materials in fatigue

This work provides some ecological criteria for fatigue designers so that they can quantitatively consider the ecological impact as a factor during the process of design. In particular, during the selection of materials for fatigue applications, two kinds of applications have been examined. The first one is related to components under cyclic loading with no energy consumption during their use, as a pipe under variable pressure. In this case, the highest impact takes place during the material production phase. The second application refers to components used in means of transport, as planes or cars components. For them, the highest environmental impact occurs during the use phase, through fuel consumption. For both applications, a parameter is provided, named Ecological‐Fatigue Factor, that combines both the ecological impact and the fatigue endurance of the materials. For the two applications, a ranking of materials based on the Ecological‐Fatigue Factor is given. Great differences can be found between the two rankings.     

Characterization of structural films using microelectromechanical resonators

Micromachined resonant fatigue characterization structures have been used by a variety of investigators to evaluate the stress‐life fatigue behaviour of thin films. This work will review the design, testing and analysis of these versatile thin‐film characterization structures. Subsequent discussion will illustrate how this material characterization approach has been used to evaluate the high‐cycle fatigue behaviour of silicon films commonly used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This work demonstrates that properly designed resonators can be used to monitor extraordinarily low fatigue crack growth rates (i.e. ? 10^?10 m/cycle) relevant to these minute mechanical components.     

直升机机身下部复合材料典型结构耐坠特性研究

抗坠性能是武装直升机的一项重要要求,设计具有较高抗坠吸能性能的机身下部结构是实现直升机抗坠要求的主要技术途径。研究了多种形式的复合材料结构元件抗坠特性,在元件研究基础上优化选择复合材料波纹梁和厚蜂窝结构组合,提出了一种新颖的具有较高抗坠吸能性能的复合材料组件形式,并利用有限元理论及试验的方法进行了对比研究分析,计算结果和试验结果吻合较好。     

Load spectrum modification effects on fatigue of impact-damaged carbon fibre composite coupons

The sensitivity of carbon fibre composite aircraft materials to low-level impact damage leads to some concern about possible long-term degradation of these materials by fatigue, particularly under compression-dominated loading. The testing of carbon fibre composites under realistic flight-by-flight loading is complicated by the fact that composites display good fatigue properties combined with a higher level of scatter than is the case for metals; the duration of fatigue tests can therefore be considerable. This paper investigates the effects of using a modified loading spectrum for accelerated fatigue testing, and examines the growth rates of realistic impact damage in tests which represent flight-by-flight loading of an aircraft wing.     

A New Static and Fatigue Compression Test Method for Composites

Abstract: A new test method to determine the compressive properties of composite materials under both static and fatigue loading was developed. The novel fixture is based on the concept of transmitting the load by a fixed ratio of end‐to‐shear loading. The end‐to‐shear load ratio is kept fixed during the test through a mechanical mechanism, which automatically maintains the gripping pressure. The combined loading method has proven very efficient in static loading and is used in the new fixture which is specially designed for fatigue testing. Optimum gripping (shear loading) and alignment of the test coupon are achieved throughout the fatigue life. The fatigue strength obtained is more reliable because bending of the specimen due to poor gripping and alignment is minimised. The application of the new fixture to static and fatigue compression is demonstrated by using unidirectional carbon/epoxy and glass/polyester composite systems. Repeatable results and acceptable failure modes are obtained under both static and fatigue loading.     

Tensile and compressive damage coupling for fully-reversed bending fatigue of fibre-reinforced composites

ABSTRACT Due to their high specific stiffness and strength, fibre-reinforced composite materials are winning through in a wide range of applications in automotive, naval and aerospace industry. Their design for fatigue is a complicated problem and a large research effort is being spent on it today. However there is still a need for extensive experimental testing or large safety factors to be adopted, because numerical simulations of the fatigue damage behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites are often found to be unreliable. This is due to the limited applicability of the theoretical models developed so far, compared to the complex multi-axial fatigue loadings that composite components often have to sustain in in-service loading conditions.
In this paper a new phenomenological fatigue model is presented. It is basically a residual stiffness model, but through an appropriate choice of the stress measure, the residual strength and thus final failure can be predicted as well. Two coupled growth rate equations for tensile and compressive damage describe the damage growth under tension–compression loading conditions and provide a much more general approach than the use of the stress ratio R . The model has been applied to fully-reversed bending of plain woven glass/epoxy specimens. Stress redistributions and the three stages of stiffness degradation (sharp initial decline – gradual deterioration – final failure) could be simulated satisfactorily.     

Durability assessment of automotive aluminium parts

Automotive chassis components made from aluminium alloys are often used without any paint or corrosion protection system. Therefore, the fatigue performance under corrosive environments has to be assessed as part of the design process. Literature data reveal a diffuse picture with regard to the extent of fatigue strength reduction due to corrosive environments. On the other hand, there is no standard or well‐established guideline on relevant details of corrosion fatigue tests. Thus the definition of such tests has to be based on individual judgement. After a brief review of corrosion fatigue data and trends collected from the literature, test results are reported for components tested under simplified spectrum load cases in 3.5% NaCl including spectrum variations via omission and truncation. These data backed up by a numerical fatigue life prediction exercise have been used to support decisions on test conditions to be adopted for proof testing.     

The damage tolerance of carbon fiber reinforced composites—A workshop summary

The principal objective of this workshop was to identify the critical problem areas associated with the damage tolerance of carbon-fiber reinforced composite materials. The discussion was divided into six areas: (1) damage tolerant materials; (2) testing methods; (3) structural life prediction; (4) damage tolerant design concepts; (5) repair methods; and (6) nondestructive testing. Approximately 1 h was devoted to the discussion of each of these topics. Discussion was stimulated by having one, two, or three introductory presentations by the discussion leaders of each topic followed by open discussion. In this report, my impressions of the discussion on each topic are combined with those of the discussion leaders and presented in the following format: Summary of Presentations; Summary of Discussion; and Critical Issues. It is possible to obtain the final conclusions of the workshop by examining the critical issues listed at the end of each section.

The discussion was lively, controversial, and open. The main conclusions to be drawn from the workshop are: (1) damage from impact is the worst type of damage for these materials—significant reductions in the compressive strength will occur following impact; (2) fatigue damage at the present time does not limit the use of these materials but as new materials are developed fatigue failure may become an issue; (3) very little is understood about the micromechanics of damage, hence it is impossible to predict the effect of changing the properties of the individual components (fibers, matrix, and fiber-matrix interface) on the bulk material properties; (4) better analytical models to describe the formation and growth of impact-damage are badly needed; and (5) rapid NDT methods to inspect large components are required.     

多损伤复合材料加筋壁板高周疲劳特性及剩余压缩强度

为研究常用于飞机垂尾的复合材料加筋壁板的冲击疲劳特性,设计了该型加筋壁板多点冲击试验、高周疲劳试验及剩余压缩强度试验。讨论了不同冲击能量对筋条边缘冲击损伤的影响,及施加低应力水平的疲劳载荷后各冲击损伤区域的扩展情况,对比分析了疲劳对冲击后剩余压缩强度的影响。结果表明:40J能量冲击后的损伤面积和凹坑深度较大,C扫描损伤形貌很不规则。100万次低应力疲劳后主损伤区附近衍生出新损伤,导致压缩破坏时产生向上、下夹具扩展的裂痕。该型加筋壁板疲劳后破坏载荷保持率为95.6%,有较好的抗冲击疲劳能力,为加筋壁板耐久性及后屈曲设计提供了思路。     

Generalized 3D high cycle fatigue criteria for multiscale bridging‐based progressive damage analysis of multilayer composite parts under random loads and material deterioration

Two frameworks are employed to develop two distinct categories of multiaxial high cycle fatigue life assessment models for composite components experiencing general and random loading conditions. In this regard, the decay in the material properties with cycles is also taken into account. It is obvious that in multilayer components, the fatigue failure is a progressive process that may be accompanied by gradual or sudden changes in the material properties and, consequently, the resulting stresses. In addition to using the traditional progressive damage analyses, a new concept is proposed for tracing of the localized fatigue failures more accurately. It is postulated that generally, the stress components have distinct frequencies, phase shifts, and mean values that all vary with time in a random manner. The proposed fatigue criteria, especially, the equivalent‐stress–based ones, are capable of predicting various fatigue failure modes, such as the fibre breakage, matrix cracking, and interfacial debonding. A special and comprehensive fatigue failure tracking and cycle counting algorithms that are capable of handling the mentioned general peculiarities are proposed. The proposed HCF criteria and the relevant fatigue life assessment algorithm are then implemented on a composite multilayer mono‐leaf spring of a realistic vehicle under a random field‐measured loading condition, as a typical component, and the results are compared and the experimental results conducted by the authors, for accuracy investigations. The considered stochastic road inputs have been chosen on the basis of the consumption times and field measurements.     

Structural durability criteria for commercial vehicle components from the self strengthening cast ausferrite nodular iron EN‐GJS‐800–8 (ADI) in comparison to the ferritic EN‐GJS‐400–15

The structural durability of safety components in the chassis comprises not only the fatigue behaviour under cyclic variable amplitude service loading, but also its interaction with prestrains caused by special events and the rupture behaviour under impact loading due to misuse . From this background, the structural durability behaviour of Panhard rods made from ferritic cast nodular iron EN‐GJS‐400–15 was compared with the behaviour of rods made from the austempered EN‐GJS‐800–8. The components investigated, Panhard rods and cast plugs, made from the austempered material revealed a higher impact resistance than the components made from the ferritic cast nodular iron. Due to their ausferrite microstructure, Panhard rods made from EN‐GJS‐800–8 display a significantly superior fatigue strength behaviour, especially under spectrum loading, and offer a potential for lightweight design. Prestrains do not affect the fatigue behaviour under variable amplitude loading and the plastic deformation of the component under impact loading can be increased by appropriate design reducing the stiffness in the shaft area and achieving a weight reduction by 15 %.     

In situ monitoring in real time of fatigue-induced damage growth in composite materials by acoustography

There are growing concerns about the effects of accidental impact damage on the structural integrity of aerospace composites and about the possible growth of the damage due to in-service fatigue. There has been some success in the use of established methods (ultrasonic C-scan, thermography, X-rays) to monitor damage development during fatigue experiments by interrupting a test and removing the specimen for damage inspection but this stop-and-restart test procedure is far from satisfactory. Real-time damage monitoring in composite materials during fatigue has now become possible by the emergence of a new ultrasonic imaging technology, acoustography. The successful integration of acoustography and a servo-hydraulic fatigue test machine has resulted in a new measurement system which can be used for the in situ monitoring in real time of damage growth in composite specimens during long-term fatigue tests. Results are presented which show damage-area growth during fatigue cycling under high compressive loads. After an initial small enlargement (stage 1), damage grows at a constant rate (stage 2) until the third stage is reached when there is further growth at an increasing rate to final failure. However, a ‘fatigue limit’ has also been observed. At stresses below this fatigue limit, a zero damage-growth régime has been found in studies of >10⁶ fatigue cycles. The results obtained have important implications for the understanding of the effects of damage on fatigue life and for the design of ‘safe’ damage-tolerant structures.     

复合材料层板低速冲击后疲劳性能实验研究

通过对T300/5405复合材料层板进行低速冲击后的压-压疲劳实验,研究含不同冲击损伤层板的压缩性能与其在多级应力水平下的疲劳寿命与损伤扩展,并讨论冲击能量、应力水平、损伤扩展对层板疲劳寿命的影响。结果表明:冲击损伤明显降低层板的剩余强度;在低应水平下,冲击能量越大,含冲击损伤层板的疲劳寿命越小;疲劳实验中损伤经历平稳扩展和快速扩展两个阶段,其中平稳扩展阶段约占总体寿命的80%,快速扩展阶段约占总体寿命的20%,损伤扩展速率随着应力水平降低而减小。     

Numerical simulation of fatigue‐driven delamination using interface elements

This paper presents a computational technique for the prediction of fatigue‐driven delamination growth in composite materials. The interface element, which has been extensively applied to predict delamination growth due to static loading, has been modified to incorporate the effects of cyclic loading. Using a damage mechanics formulation, the constitutive law for the interface element has been extended by incorporating a modified version of a continuum fatigue damage model. The paper presents details of the fatigue degradation strategy and examples of the predicted fatigue delamination growth in mode I, mode II and mixed mode I/II are presented to demonstrate that the numerical model mimics the Paris law behaviour usually observed in experimental testing. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of carbon fibres on the static and fatigue mechanical properties of fibre metal laminates

It is crucial to understand the characteristic fatigue crack initiation and its growth mechanisms, as well as the relationship between the mechanical properties and the fatigue damage evolution in fibre metal laminates (FMLs). Two types of FML were studied in this work: a polyacrylonitrile‐based carbon fibre epoxy matrix composite sandwiched by Ti‐6Al‐4V (Ti‐alloy) sheets (IMS60‐Ti) and a pitch‐based carbon fibre epoxy matrix composite sandwiched by Ti‐alloy sheets (K13D‐Ti). The static and fatigue mechanical properties of IMS60‐Ti and K13D‐Ti were investigated. The increased failure strain of the FML was greater than that of carbon fibre‐reinforced polymer (CFRP) matrix composites. The fatigue life of IMS60‐Ti was much longer than that of K13D‐Ti. The fatigue damage process in IMS60‐Ti was related to the fatigue creep behaviour of the Ti‐alloy face sheet and mode II cracking at the CFRP/Ti‐alloy interface, and the damage in K13D‐Ti was related to the K13D CFRP laminate.     

5CrNiMo钢的强度水平和表面强化对冲击疲劳性能的影响

本文探讨了用冲击疫劳试验测定的疲劳寿命和疲劳裂纹扩展速率衡量热锤锻模材料疲劳抗力的合理性。研究了5CrNiMo钢在热锻模要求的硬度范围内,材料强度水平和表面强化对冲击疲劳性能的影响。试验结果表明,在相当小型锻模受载的低冲击能量作用下,适当提高材料强度可延长疲劳寿命;在相当大型锻模受载的高冲击能量作用下,提高材料塑性、韧性可提高疲劳寿命。软氮化并磨去脆性白层可显著提高低冲击能量下的冲击疲劳寿命。     

Fatigue tests of notched specimens made from butt joints at steel

The weld toe as well as the weld root of joints acts as a geometrical notch, which decreases the fatigue strength of welded components. Local approaches used for fatigue assessment account for the local stress concentration when referring to the notch stress as a fatigue parameter. This applies also to the approaches based on the notch stress intensity factor like, for example, the averaged strain energy density, neglecting the actual notch radius and considering a sharp notch as a simplification. A uniform S‐N curve valid for different types of welded joints and failure locations was derived from re‐analyses of fatigue test results as documented in literature. The fatigue tests described in this paper aimed at validating that energy‐based S‐N curve by dedicated tests on artificially notched specimens. At first, four parameters were investigated in order to estimate their influence on the fatigue strength and to select appropriate notch geometries for the final step of the test campaign. The advantages of these tests are that both the exact notch geometry and the local stress range at the notch, including misalignment effects, were identified and considered in experimental data analysis. This paper presents the results of the rather comprehensive testing activities and comparisons with the design‐S‐N curve mentioned, yielding unexpected fatigue behaviour. This can be explained by the short crack propagation life.