Fatigue Mechanisms in High-Strength Silica-Glass Fibers

We use experimentally determined crack growth data for silica glass and a fracture mechanics model for delayed failure to predict the fatigue behavior for high-strength silica-glass fibers. The results of this model indicate that fracture mechanics methods can be used to adequately describe the fatigue behavior observed for high-strength silica-glass fibers at room temperature in humid conditions. The key feature to properly interpreting the fatigue of high-strength fibers is the use of a fracture-rate law in which the crack extension rate increases exponentially with applied stress. We show that a fracture mechanics approach to highstrength fiber fatigue can provide the basis for identifying additional fatigue mechanisms that may control failure in more aggressive fatigue environments.     

Effect of Loading Mode and Coating on Dynamic Fatigue of Optical Fiber in Two-Point Bending

Two-point bending is a useful method for investigating the mechanical properties of optical fiber and has several advantages when compared to the traditional tensile test. However, the strength of the fiber is usually determined at constant faceplate velocity rather than at constant strain rate as in the uniaxial tensile test, and previous work casts doubt on the comparability of fatigue results obtained using different loading modes and hence on the reliability of the bending technique. This paper presents dynamic fatigue results using a two-point bend apparatus that can be programmed to operate in constant velocity, constant strain rate, and constant stress rate loading modes. These results, obtained for both bare and polymer-coated fused silica optical fiber, show no significant differences in the calculated fatigue parameters for the three loading modes and clearly indicate the reliability of the two-point bend method at constant faceplate velocity. The results, however, show that the obtained value of the stress corrosion susceptibility parameter, n , is dependent on the quantity used to define it, i.e., stress or strain to failure, because of the nonlinear elastic behavior of silica.     

Compressive fatigue damage and failure mechanism of fiber reinforced cementitious material with high ductility

The fiber reinforced cementitious material with high ductility has potential use in particular environments and structures that undergo repeated or fatigue loads. In this study, a series of monotonic and fatigue tests were performed to investigate the compressive fatigue behavior of this material. It is found that the fatigue life of this material is higher than that of plain concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete under the same stress level. In addition, the failure deformation of fiber reinforced cementitious material with high ductility under fatigue load was larger than the monotonic envelope, while the envelope coincides with the monotonic loading curve for concrete or fiber reinforced concrete. The failure surface and damage process were investigated and a new failure mode of polyvinyl alcohol fiber with crushed end was discovered. The fatigue failure surface could be divided into three regions, including fatigue source region, transition region and crack extension region.     

Fatigue behavior of polyamide 66/glass fiber under various kinds of applied load

In this study, the fatigue behavior of polyamide 66 reinforced with short glass fibers and especially the role of glass fibers has been investigated under two kinds of cyclic loading. tension–tension fatigue tests with stress controlled and alternative flexural fatigue test with strain controlled were carried out. The main topics include microscope damage observation, described by fiber/matrix debonding and interfacial failure, endurance limit with Wohler curves, effect of self‐heating temperature. For both tests, the surface temperature increases with an increasing applied load. The results show that the self‐heating has an important effect in the failure point where the Wohler curves join each other. The fracture surface was analyzed by scanning electron microscope for both applied loads. The stress ratio is −1 for alternative flexural fatigue test and 0.1 and 0.3 for tension–tension fatigue test ones at frequencies ranging 2–60 Hz. POLYM. COMPOS.,, 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Oxidation of Silicon Carbide Fibers During Static Fatigue in Air at Intermediate Temperatures

The static fatigue of SiC-based fiber bundles and single fibers has been examined in previous papers, with emphasis placed on the analysis of the stress–rupture time data, and on the modelling of delayed failure from slow crack growth. The present paper investigates the oxidation of the fibers during static fatigue, at temperatures in the intermediate temperature range (500°–800°C). Two oxidation-induced phenomena have been evidenced: the formation of a thin silica film at the surface of fibers and the delayed failure of fiber bundles and single filaments. The stress–rupture time data are interpreted with respect to the chemical and structural characteristics of fibers, and to the oxide film growth rate. The structural analysis of the fibers was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. Delayed failure was found to result from slow crack propagation from surface defects, as a result of the consumption of the free carbon at grain boundaries and the local stresses induced by the SiC→SiO₂ transformation at the crack tip. The respective contributions of these phenomena to static fatigue are discussed.     

Failure of Glass with Subthreshold Flaws

Conventional postthreshold crack analysis cannot be used to predict the strength and fatigue behavior of glass with subthreshold flaws. Therefore, a fracture mechanics model for failure of glass with subthreshold indentation flaws was developed. This model accounts for both the near- and farfield residual stresses associated with the indentation impression. It is shown that these stresses play a major role in the initiation and subsequent propagation of cracks that eventually cause failure. The model predicts "pop-in" of a well-developed crack and failure under continuous and discontinuous crack growth in both inert and fatigue conditions. The results of experiments with bare fused silica fibers with indentation subthreshold flaws in inert and fatigue (water) environments were in good agreement with the predictions by the model.     

Fatigue of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia: II, Crack Propagation, Fatigue Striations, and Short-Crack Behavior

Fatigue crack propagation in 3Y-TZP was investigated using controlled surface flaws. A unique growth law strongly dependent on the maximum stress intensity factor and quadratically dependent on the amplitude of the range of stress intensity factor was established. This growth law was found to apply for both surface flaws and internal flaws and could be used to predict fatigue lifetime. The presence of residual stress altered the growth mechanics so that an inverse growth rate dependence on the applied stress, reminiscent of the so-called "short-crack behavior," was manifested. Fatigue striations resulting from alternate overload fracture and fatigue fracture during stress cycling were observed. The appearance of striations varied with the R ratio and was very sensitive to the loading condition and crack geometry.     

Frequency Effects on Fatigue Behavior of a Silicon Carbide Fiber-Reinforced Glass–Ceramic Composite (SiC/MAS)

The effects of cyclic frequency on the fatigue behavior of silicon carbide (Nicalon) fiber-reinforced glass–ceramic matrix (SiC/magnesium aluminosilicate (MAS)) were investigated. Tension–tension fatigue tests were conducted at two frequencies, 10 and 900 Hz, to establish stress versus cycles to failure ( S–N ) relationships. Cycles to failure at a given stress level decreased with an increase of the applied frequency. Analysis of damage mechanisms suggests that there was an enhancement of fiber/matrix interfacial bonding at the higher frequency due to the formation of SiO₂ from the reaction of oxygen species of the matrix with SiC of the fiber.     

Surface shear stress relaxation of silica glass

A constant angle of twist was applied to silica glass rods in order to produce a torsional shear strain and a reduction in torque representative of the stress state in the glass was measured as a function of time when rods were heat-treated in air at temperatures, 550-700°C, far below the glass transition temperature. The monotonic decrease of torque with time was explained by surface stress relaxation, which can be described by a relaxation of stress at the surface of glass which is promoted by water. The obtained surface stress relaxation diffusion coefficients were consistent with those obtained earlier from silica glass fiber bending under a similar water vapor pressure. The observed relaxation in torsion supports the mechanism of surface stress relaxation over the swelling-based mechanism for applications including glass fiber strengthening.     

Apparent activation energy of fused silica optical fibers in static fatigue in aqueous environments

Static fatigue of fused silica optical fiber is known to be caused by stress assisted reaction of silica with ambient moisture. Past studies have often been conducted in hot water to accelerate experiments compared with cooler vapor environment. However, changes in the pH of water with temperature has an important influence on the fatigue rate, but has been ignored in the literature. To study the effect of pH, static fatigue of fused silica fibers has been characterized over a range of temperatures in both distilled water and pH 7 buffer solution. The apparent activation energies were then obtained for the different environments. The silica fibers were found to fatigue faster in pH 7 buffer solution than in distilled water, and the apparent activation energy for fatigue was higher in pH 7 buffer. The difference in the results for the two environments can be understood in terms of the difference in their pH and how the pH varies with temperature.     

Fatigue behavior and damage evolution of SiC/SiC composites under high-temperature anaerobic cyclic loading

In the present study, the fatigue behavior and damage evolution of SiC/SiC minicomposites at elevated temperatures in oxygen-free environment are investigated which are important for their application and are still unclear. The high-temperature fatigue test platform is developed and the fatigue stress-life curve and the stress-strain response are obtained. The test result shows that the life of the material at elevated temperature is shorter than that at room temperature under the same stress level. Moreover, the hysteresis loop width and the residual strain increase with the increasing of the cycles while the hysteresis modulus decreases during the fatigue cycling. The evolution process of matrix cracks is observed using the real-time remote detection system. It is found that matrix cracking is insensitive to the cyclic loading which is similar to room temperature and is due to that the degeneration of the interfacial shear stress reduces the area of high stress in matrix. The fiber/matrix interfacial shear stress under different cycles is determined based on the fatigue modulus of each hysteresis loop. The result shows a fatigue enhancement phenomenon for the interface which is not observed at room temperature.     

Flexural fatigue behavior of injection-molded composites based on poly(phenylene ether ketone)

Flexural fatigue tests were conducted on injection-molded short fiber composites, carbon fiber/poly(phenylene ether ketone) (PEK-C) and glass fiber/PEK-C (with addition of polyphenylene sulfide for improving adhesion between matrix and fibers), using four-point bending at stress ratio of 0.1. The fatigue behavior of these materials was presented. By comparing the S-N curves and analyzing the fracture surfaces of the two materials, the similarity and difference of the failure mechanisms in the two materials were discussed. It is shown that the flexural fatigue failure of the studied materials is governed by their respective tensile properties. The matrix yielding is main failure mechanism at high stress, while at lower stress the fatigue properties appear fiber and interface dominated. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65: 1857–1864, 1997     

Long fiber reinforced polyamide and polycarbonate composites. II: Fatigue behavior and morphological property

Fatigue behavior and morphology of long glass fiber reinforced semicrystalline polyamide (nylon 6,6) and amorphous polycarbonate (PC) composites were investigated. The fiber length distribution in the molded samples was calculated by image analyzer. The tension-tension fatigue loading tests at various levels of stress amplitudes were studied. The two-parameter Weibull distribution function were applied to obtain the statistical probability distribution of experimental data. A good correlation existed between the experimental data and the Weibull distribution curves. Straight line S? N curves of long glass fiber reinforced semicrystalline polyamide and amorphous polycarbonate composites at various probabilities were established. The stiffness of the composite under tension-tension fatigue loading was measured. The thermal stress history was also investigated by thermo-imaging techniques during fatigue life testing. Further, failure morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the fracture behavior of the ductile damage in polyamide is different from the brittle damage in polycarbonate.     

Effect of Sodium Chloride Solutions on the Strength and Fatigue of Bare Silica Fibers

The strength of bare silica fiber in sodium chloride solutions decreases as the NaCl concentration increases. Static fatigue measurements in deionized water (pH 6) are compared to those in a 2 mM solution of NaCl (pH 5.2), both at 90°C. The pretransition stress corrosion parameter, determined from the power law, is 33 in deionized water and 18 in the NaCl soution. The effect of BaCl on the reaction mechanism in the pretransition region is investigated. The failure rate is proportional to the surface charge of silica raised to the second power.     

Nonlinear Elasticity of Silica Glass

In situ Brillouin light scattering measurements with a spatial resolution of ~1 μm have been carried out to study the elastic moduli of silica glass fibers in a single two‐point bend experiment to nominal strains of 7% in both tensile and compressive regions. Such data are necessary in order to convert the failure strains obtained from two‐point bend experiments into failure stress. For the first time, the neutral axis shift in a bent silica glass fiber was observed in our measurements, with more of the fiber deforming in compression than in tension, resulting from the nonlinear elastic behavior of silica glass. Understanding the neutral axis shift will improve the accuracy of strain and stress calculations in bent fibers. This study shows that an expression including a fifth‐order term is required to capture both the minimum in compression and the maximum in tension in the strain‐dependent Young's modulus of silica glass. A stress versus strain relation over a broad range of compressive and tensile strains was established for silica glass in this study, which will significantly improve our understanding of its deformation behavior.     

基于混凝土基体和界面过渡区性质的疲劳方程

根据混凝土材料在静态荷载与疲劳荷载作用下破坏的相似性,结合其在静态荷载作用下的破坏分析了疲劳破坏过程,通过引入基体和界面过渡区对疲劳性能的影响因子f1,f2,定义基体性质特征参数I和界面过渡区性质特征参数M,应用数学模型描述f1,f2随疲劳寿命对数值lgN的变化趋势,建立混凝土材料基体、界面过渡区性质与疲劳性能之间的定量关系,并得到基于基体与界面过渡区性质的疲劳方程.测试了水胶比为0.35,不同矿物掺合料掺量混凝土在不同应力水平下的疲劳寿命.应用所建立的疲劳方程能较好地拟合S-N关系,尤其是大矿物掺合料掺量的情况下,反映了低周疲劳向高周疲劳过渡的非线性变化.     

Short-Crack Mechanical Properties and Failure Mechanisms of Si3N4-Matrix/SiC-Fiber Composites

SiC-fiber-reinforced Si₃N₄ composites were fabricated by hot pressing. The indentation-strength technique was applied to study the mechanical properties of these composites. This enabled the investigation of short-crack behavior of continuous-fiber ceramic composites (CFCCs). The flaw tolerance of composite ultimate strength, matrix-cracking stress, and work-of-fracture were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine crack–fiber interactions. The ultimate strength was found to be independent of indentation load at a fiber volume fraction f = 0.29, while at f = 0.14 it exhibited a transition from flawsensitive to flaw-independent. The work-of-fracture was found to be independent of indentation load at both fiber volume fractions. The matrix-cracking stress was found to correspond to the first load-drop on the load–displacement curve. It decreased with increasing flaw size and therefore is the steady-state matrix-cracking stress. A failure mechanism transition from catastrophic failure to non-catastrophic failure, coupled with the transition from flawsensitive to flaw-tolerant behavior, was observed by varying the preexisting flaw size and the fiber volume fraction. These transitions were explained by analyzing the relations between ultimate strength, matrix-cracking stress, fiber volume fraction, and preexisting flaw size of the composite materials. Experimental results were compared with predictions from available models.     

Dissolution Kinetics of Crystalline and Amorphous Silica in Hydrofluoric-Hydrochloric Acid Mixtures

The dissolution kinetics of crystalline and amorphous silica were studied as a function of time, temperature, concentration of HF, concentration of HC1, and crystallographic orientation. The results indicate that dissolution is a surface reaction-controlled process. The dissolution rate depends strongly on HF concentration and weakly on HC1 concentration. The dissolution rates depend on crystallographic direction in α-quartz and are slower than for fused silica. The rate-controlling step is thought to be a ligand exchange process at the surface.     

Mechanical Failure of Bent Optical Fiber Subjected to High Power

As optical fiber penetrates further into the communications infrastructure and comes closer to the home or business, higher optical power levels are expected. Several studies have shown that sharply bent optical fiber will fail prematurely when exposed to high optical power levels. In an extreme case, where the fiber is bent to a maximum bend stress on the order of 2 GPa and subjected to a power level of 1–2 W in the near-infrared wavelength window, optical fiber will fail in minutes. Time to failure decreases with increasing bend stress and optical power. A recent report suggests that power levels in the range of a few hundred milliwatts may be enough to induce delayed failure in bent fiber. This study explores the progression of events leading to failure. Light that escapes the core of bent fiber passes into the coating, where a small amount is absorbed and converted to heat. The coating heats to a stable temperature and visually darkens with time. This is followed by an abrupt rise in temperature, which occurs as the coating transforms to a highly absorptive material, consistent with thermal runaway. The abrupt rise in coating temperature stimulates viscoelastic deformation of the glass. Glass deformation is explained in terms of the ability of highly quenched glass to experience viscous flow at temperatures well below the glass transition range (i.e. sub-Tg aging or relaxation). As the glass portion of the fiber moves toward a "kinked" configuration, it concentrates more power on a smaller region of coating, resulting in further temperature increase. There is no evidence of the fiber fuse effect in the lower viscosity glass core. The final kinked configuration of the glass fiber leads to complete attenuation of the light and failure is complete. Coating decomposition is self-limiting with no visible flame. A coating with a refractive index near or below that of silica was found to virtually eliminate this failure mode.     

Effect of frequency upon fatigue strength of a short glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6: A superposition method based on cyclic creep parameters

The fatigue behavior of a conditioned short glass‐fiber reinforced polyamide 6 was studied and the effect of the cyclic frequency investigated. Load controlled fatigue tests were performed, and the strains and surface temperature of specimens were recorded continuously. The number of cycles to failure was found to be dependent upon cyclic creep rate, as is typical for short glass fiber reinforced polyamides in the conditioned state. A strong reduction of fatigue strength was observed for increasing cyclic load frequency. This was mainly related to the specimen temperature increase due to hysteretic self heating and its effect on the cyclic creep speed. A frequency superposition method is proposed, expressing the relationship between temperature rise, applied stress, and cyclic creep speed in terms of a parameter derived from the Larson–Miller steady creep parameter. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers