Analysis of Flexural Fatigue Damage in Woven Glass-Polyester Composites

Abstract

The monotonic and fatigue behaviour of a woven glass/polyester composite has been investigated under three-point bending conditions. Microscopic observations of the fatigue specimens revealed that the damage was mainly related to the early nucleation of transverse micro-cracks and delaminations along the longitudinal fiber bundles. From the quantitative analysis of the length and the orientation of these defects, it was possible to derive a lifetime criterion which was associated to a transition in damage mechanisms.