Life prediction of woven CFRP structure subject to static and fatigue loading

The fundamental material properties of woven CFRP (carbon fibre-reinforced plastics) material subjected to static and fatigue loading were extensively carried out. The structural responses of woven CFRP I-beam structure subjected to four point bend tests were also performed. Details of the test set-up and comprehensive results are presented in this paper. The results of the fundamental material properties were used in a proposed “stiffness decay” model to predict the static and fatigue responses of a woven CFRP I-beam structure in four point bending. The proposed “stiffness decay” model was applied to predict the onset of initial failure and the progression towards final failure. The predicted results of the static response, fatigue response, fatigue life and stiffness decay predictions were compared with the experimental data. Good correlations between predicted and experimental results provide the necessary confidence in using the proposed “stiffness decay” model.