Material state change relationships to fracture path development for large-strain fatigue of composite materials

Abstract

The long-term performance of engineering structures is typically discussed in terms of such concepts as structural integrity, durability, damage tolerance, fracture toughness, etc. These familiar concepts are usually addressed by considering balance equations, crack growth relationships, constitutive equations with constant material properties, and constant or cyclically applied load conditions. The loading histories are represented by changing stress (or strain) states only. For many situations, especially for those associated with high-performance engineering structures, the local state of the material may also change during service, so that the properties used in the equations are functions of time and history of applied conditions. For example, the local values of stiffness, strength, and conductivity are altered by material degradation to create "property fields" that replace the global constants, and introduce time and history into the governing equations. The present paper will examine a small set of such problems, which involve the accumulation of distributed damage and the development of an eventual fracture path leading to failure. Specifically, the paper discusses this problem in the context of material state changes measured by impedance variations as a method of following the details of fracture path development. An analysis and interpretations of observations will be presented, and limitations and opportunities associated with this general concept will be discussed.