Fatigue life prediction of glass fibre-reinforced plastics using the acousto-ultrasonic technique

Abstract

Composite materials possess the characteristics of high stiffness and high fatigue strength which are desirable for advanced aircraft components. However, the fatigue behaviour of such materials depends upon a variety of factors (such as fibre volume fraction, percentage of voids and lay-up order), the effects of which are difficult to establish individually, so that a wholistic approach is the only satisfactory solution. The present paper deals with a nondestructive evaluation technique, which is a combination of acoustic emission and ultrasonics, for the evaluation of the fatigue life of a cross-plied ( 0° 90°) glass fibre-reinforced plastic composite. The results show that the fatigue life can be determined from the parameter known as the stress wave factor with the required degree of confidence. © 1987.