Abstract
There is a need for damage tolerant composite material for very large engineering structures such as wind turbine rotor blades. The development of improved composite materials with higher damage tolerance will be most efficiently guided by models of the relevant damage modes. Two damage modes are considered in the present paper: Fatigue damage due to in-plane tensile stresses in the fibre direction and cyclic delamination crack growth from a ply drop. For both failure modes the damage evolution is considered at macro- and microscale. Micromechanical models are used to illustrate how changes in the mechanical properties of fibre, matrix and the fibre/matrix interface can lead to an increased damage tolerance material. Also, micromechanical testing methods for characterizing the relevant micromechanical parameters are discussed.
Highlights
Composites based on long aligned high-stiffness fibres in a polymer matrix are widely used in large load-carrying structures where low weight and long fatigue life are of major importance.Examples of use are wind turbine rotor blades, which are to be in service for 20-25 years, while being subjected to varying cyclic loads and varying environmental exposure [1, 2].structures made of composite materials can fail by a number of complicated failure modes, since they typical possess weak interfaces at multiple length scales
There is a need for damage tolerant composite material for very large engineering structures such as wind turbine rotor blades
The development of improved composite materials with higher damage tolerance will be most efficiently guided by models of the relevant damage modes
Summary
Composites based on long aligned high-stiffness fibres in a polymer matrix are widely used in large load-carrying structures where low weight and long fatigue life are of major importance.Examples of use are wind turbine rotor blades, which are to be in service for 20-25 years, while being subjected to varying cyclic loads (aerodynamic and gravitational) and varying environmental exposure [1, 2].structures made of composite materials can fail by a number of complicated failure modes, since they typical possess weak interfaces at multiple length scales. Two damage modes are considered in the present paper: Fatigue damage due to inplane tensile stresses in the fibre direction and cyclic delamination crack growth from a ply drop. Micromechanical models are used to illustrate how changes in the mechanical properties of fibre, matrix and the fibre/matrix interface can lead to an increased damage tolerance material.
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