Accelerated testing methodology for long-term fatigue life prediction of polymer composites

The applicability of our developed accelerated testing methodology (ATM) based on the time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) and others for the prediction of long-term creep and fatigue lives of polymer matrix composites is performed experimentally and theoretically. The formulation method of master curves of creep and fatigue strengths for polymer matrix composites is introduced based on ATM. The master curves of creep and fatigue strengths for the typical four directions of unidirectional CFRP, that is the longitudinal tensile and compressive loadings and the transverse tensile loading and the 20 degree off axis tensile loading, are formulated using the data measured based on ATM. It was cleared that each of the long-term creep and fatigue lives for the four directions of unidirectional CFRP shows the characteristic time and temperature dependent behavior, respectively. ©Freund Publishing House Ltd.