Elevated temperature off-axis fatigue behavior of an eight-harness satin woven carbon-fiber/bismaleimide laminate

The off-axis tensile fatigue behavior of a woven fiber/bismaleimide laminate is investigated at various temperatures. Emphasis was placed on characterization of the laminates and the development of an analytical fatigue damage model. Fatigue tests revealed that the material exhibits an atypical three-stage response in terms of stiffness degradation and permanent strain. Fiber yarn rotation was found to be a dominant mechanism in the initial stage of cycling causing high permanent strain and slight stiffness increase, while damage accumulation due to cyclic loading was dominant in the final stage causing rapid stiffness degradation. The mean strain variation during cycling was found to be proportional to the test temperature in each stage, and thus a more meaningful indicator for fatigue damage development. The corresponding analytical damage model was able to accurately capture the three-stage damage development. The current model can be used to determine damage development for cyclic loading at intermediate temperatures.