Structural Behavior of Composite Laminates Subjected to Interlaminar Damage Induced by Thermal Fatigue

Abstract:

An experimental and numerical study on interlaminar thermal fatigue induced delamination in unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced laminate is presented in this work. The studied material consists of a unidirectional prepreg carbon fiber/epoxy (AS4/8552), which has the anti-symmetrical [90₂/0₂]_T X-ply lay-up. A Teflon^® film insert was introduced into the material between the third and fourth outer layers to simulate pre-existing crack. The samples were tested under thermal cycle condition within a temperature range of 130°C and -70°C. The curvature variation with the number of cycles was measured during the tests and presented along with the crack growth rate or delamination rate (da/dN) as a function of energy release rate amplitude (), which is the arithmetic difference between G_H and G_L that occur at lowest and highest temperatures respectively. The experimental results were compared with numerical results obtained using ABAQUS Finite Element code. A good correlation in terms of crack growth rate (da/dN) as a function of the energy release rate range () was obtained between experimental and numerical results. Furthermore, the results show that the experimental curvature decrease with increasing number of cycles, and its behavior varies with the range of thermal load imposed on the specimen.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 1135)
• Pages: 20-34
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1135.20
• Online since: January 2016
• Authors: A.E. Treml, R.F. Gouvêa, R.C.M. Sales, M.V. Donadon*, José Divo Bressan
• Keywords: Carbon/Epoxy Laminates, Composite Material, Fracture Mechanics, Thermal Fatigue

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