Prediction of tensile fatigue life under temperature environment for unidirectional CFRP

Abstract

A method for prediction of fatigue strength under temperature environment was proposed for polymer composites and its validity was confirmed for the flexural fatigue strength of satin-woven CFRP laminates and others. This method is based upon the four hypotheses: (A) same failure process under constant strain-rate (CSR), creep, and fatigue loadings, (B) same time-temperature superposition principle for all failure strengths, (C) linear cumulative damage law for a nondecreasing stress process, and (D) linear dependence of fatigue strength upon stress ratio. Data are provided for tensile CSR, creep, and fatigue tests at various loading rates, frequencies, and temperatures in the longitudinal direction of unidirectional CFRP. In this paper, experimental verification of the prediction method is discussed for the tensile fatigue strength of unidirectional CFRP.