Fatigue of Composite Materials: (v. 4 Composite Materials)

This book provides the first comprehensive review of its kind on the long-term behaviour of composite materials and structures subjected to time variable mechanical, thermal, and chemical influences, a subject of critical importance to the design, development, and certification of high performance engineering structures. Specific topics examined include damage, damage characterization, and damage mechanics; fatigue testing and evaluation; fatigue behaviour of short and long fibre reinforced polymer and metal matrix materials; viscoelastic and moisture effects; delamination; statistical considerations; the modeling of cumulative damage development; and life prediction. The volume provides an extensive presentation of data, discussions, and comparisons on the behaviour of the major types of material systems in current use, as well as extensive analysis and modeling (including the first presentation of work not found elsewhere).

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction (K.L. Reifsnider). 2. Damage and Damage Mechanics (K.L. Reifsnider). The fatigue effect in composite materials. The fatigue process. The mechanics of damage development. The mechanics of strength reduction. 3. Damage Characterization (R. Talreja). Damage in composite materials. Internal variable characterization of damage. Vectorial representation of composite damage. A continuum damage theory. Damage evaluation. 4. Fatigue Behaviour of Composite Laminates (W.W. Stinchcomb, C.E. Bakis). Loads, damage, and response - an example. The damage process. Mechanics of stress redistribution. Consequences of cyclic loading: strength, stiffness, and life. 5. Delamination of Composite Materials (T.K. O'Brien). Perspective. Mechanics of delamination. Delamination growth. Characterization of delamination resistance. Conclusions and future directions. 6. Fatigue of Metal Matrix Composites (W.S. Johnson). Matrix-dominated fatigue damage. Fiber-dominated fatigue damage. Self-similar fatigue damage growth. 7. Fatigue Behaviour of Short Fibre Composite Materials (J.F. Mandell). Fatigue lifeline trends. Aligned short fiber composites. Chopped strand composites. Injection molded composites. Summary and recommendations. 8. Viscoelastic Behaviour of Laminated Composite Materials (D.A. Dillard). Linear viscoelastic analysis. Non-linear viscoelasticity. Environmental and time effects. Viscoelastic design philosophy. 9. Moisture in Composites: Sorption and Damage (Y. Weitsman). Elementary considerations. Viscoelastic behaviour. Stress effects on diffusion. Moisture-induced damage. Chemical and physical effects and other observations. 10. Life Prediction for Resin-Matrix Composite Materials (G.P. Sendeckyj). Constant amplitude fatigue theories. Cumulative damage theories. Statistical interpretation of fatigue experiments. Discussion and recommendations. 11. Statistical Considerations (R. Talreja). Fatigue reliability: basic concepts. Fatigue reliability of composites. Probabilistic models for composite strength. Conclusions. References.