Effect of voids on the crack formation in a [45/−45/0]s laminate under cyclic axial tension

In the present work, the influence of manufacturing induced voids on damage mechanisms at the microscopic scale was analysed on [45/−45/0]s laminates subjected to tension fatigue loading. Microscopic observations of the top surface of the 45° ply revealed that the first event of damage at the microscopic scale was the initiation of multiple micro-cracks in the matrix between the fibres, located preferentially in correspondence of the voids in that layer. The subsequent coalescence of these micro-cracks gave rise to the formation of a crack propagating in the 45° fibres direction. This is qualitatively the same scenario observed in void-free specimens in a recent work by the authors, thus confirming that the same crack initiation criterion can be applied in the absence and presence of voids. In addition, the micro-scale damage is shown to evolve faster and therefore off-axis cracks to initiate earlier and in a larger quantity in the presence of voids.