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Introduction to the Fatigue of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

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Fatigue of Fiber-reinforced Composites

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Abstract

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites are today considered equal candidates conventionally used materials such as steel, concrete, and wood for emerging structures. They offer light weight in combination with high specific mechanical properties and enhanced physical properties that make them attractive to both engineers and architects. The fatigue of fiber-reinforced polymer composites is a multiparametric problem, far more complicated than metal fatigue since the damage is caused by the synergistic effect of many damage mechanics occurring in parallel. Therefore only a new, material-oriented perception of the phenomenon and theoretical models that take into account the peculiarities exhibited by the examined materials can yield reliable fatigue life modeling tools and credible fatigue life prediction methodologies.

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  1. Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab), École Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne (EPFL), School of Architecture, Civil and Environment (ENAC), Station 16, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Anastasios P. Vassilopoulos & Thomas Keller

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  1. Anastasios P. Vassilopoulos
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Correspondence to Anastasios P. Vassilopoulos .

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Vassilopoulos, A.P., Keller, T. (2011). Introduction to the Fatigue of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites. In: Fatigue of Fiber-reinforced Composites. Engineering Materials and Processes. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-181-3_1

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