The Effect of Solid Particle Erosion on the Mechanical Properties and Fatigue Life of Fiber-reinforced Composites

Abstract

The effect of solid particle erosion on the strength and fatigue properties of E-glass/epoxy composite is investigated. Solid particle erosion with SiC particles of 400–500 μm in diameter is simulated on 12-ply [45°/–45°/0°/45°/–45°/0°]S E-glass/epoxy composites with a constant particle velocity of 42.5 m/s and a solid particle to air volume ratio of 6 kg/m3 at impact angles of 90, 60, and 30° for 30, 60, 90, and 120 s. Damaged and undamaged specimens are subjected to tensile tests while monitoring their acoustic emission (AE) activity. An erosion damage parameter is defined as a function of the particle impact angle and the erosion duration to determine the residual tensile strength of the composite. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the erosion-damaged specimens reveal that the same damage mechanism occurs at different impact angles. The AE stress delay parameter is used to predict the residual tensile strength of erosion-damaged composites. Tension–tension fatigue tests are performed on virgin specimens and specimens exposed to erosion damage of 60 and 90s at 90° particle impact angle to observe the effects of erosion damage on the fatigue life. A modified Basquin's equation is defined to predict the fatigue life of the erosion-damaged specimens.