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An investigation of the damage mechanisms and fatigue life diagrams of flax fiber-reinforced polymer laminates

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Abstract

In this paper we investigated the fatigue damage of a unidirectional flax-reinforced epoxy composite using infrared (IR) thermography. Two configurations of flax/epoxy composites layup were studied namely, [0]16 unidirectional ply orientation and [±45]16. The high cycle fatigue strength was determined using a thermographic criterion developed in a previous study. The fatigue limit obtained by the thermographic criterion was confirmed by the results obtained through conventional experimental methods (i.e., Stress level versus Number of cycles to failure). Furthermore, a model for predicting the fatigue life using the IR thermography was evaluated. The model was found to have a good predictive value for the fatigue life. In order to investigate the mechanism of damage initiation in flax/epoxy composites and the damage evolution, during each fatigue test we monitored the crack propagation for a stress level and at different damage stages, a direct correlation between the percentage of cracks and the mean strain was observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Ihab El Sawi & Habiba Bougherara

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Zouheir Fawaz

  3. Institut Clément Ader (INSA, UPS, Mines Albi, ISAE), Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France

    Redouane Zitoune

Authors
  1. Ihab El Sawi
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  2. Zouheir Fawaz
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  3. Redouane Zitoune
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  4. Habiba Bougherara
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Correspondence to Habiba Bougherara.

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El Sawi, I., Fawaz, Z., Zitoune, R. et al. An investigation of the damage mechanisms and fatigue life diagrams of flax fiber-reinforced polymer laminates. J Mater Sci 49, 2338–2346 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7934-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7934-0

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