Significance and Use

Susceptibility to delamination is one of the major weaknesses of many advanced laminated composite structures. Knowledge of a laminated composite materialresistance to interlaminar fracture under fatigue loads is useful for product development and material selection. Furthermore, a measurement of the relationship of the mode I cyclic strain energy release rate and the number of cycles to delamination growth onset, G N , that is independent of specimen geometry or method of load introduction, is useful for establishing design allowables used in damage tolerance analyses of composite structures made from these materials.

This test method can serve the following purposes:

5.2.1 To establish quantitatively the effects of fiber surface treatment, local variations in fiber volume fraction, and processing and environmental variables on G N of a particular composite material.

5.2.2 To compare quantitatively the relative values of G N for composite materials with different constituents.

5.2.3 To develop criteria for avoiding the onset of delamination growth under fatigue loading for composite damage tolerance and durability analyses.

1. Scope

1.1 This test method determines the number of cycles ( N ) for the onset of delamination growth based on the opening mode I cyclic strain energy release rate ( G ), using the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimen shown in . This test method applies to constant amplitude, tension-tension fatigue loading of continuous fiber-reinforced composite materials. When this test method is applied to multiple specimens at various G -levels, the results may be shown as a G-N curve, as illustrated in Fig 2.

1.2 This test method is limited to use with composites consisting of unidirectional carbon fiber tape laminates with single-phase polymer matrices. This limited scope reflects the experience gained in round robin testing. This test method may prove useful for other types and classes of composite materials, however, certain interferences have been noted (see Section 6.5 of Test Method D 5528).

1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. The values provided in parentheses are for information only.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

D883 Terminology Relating to Plastics

D2584 Test Method for Ignition Loss of Cured Reinforced Resins

D2651 Guide for Preparation of Metal Surfaces for Adhesive Bonding

D2734 Test Methods for Void Content of Reinforced Plastics

D3171 Test Methods for Constituent Content of Composite Materials

D3878 Terminology for Composite Materials

D5229/D5229M Test Method for Moisture Absorption Properties and Equilibrium Conditioning of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials

D5528 Test Method for Mode I Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites

E4 Practices for Force Verification of Testing Machines

E6 Terminology Relating to Methods of Mechanical Testing

E122 Practice for Calculating Sample Size to Estimate, With Specified Precision, the Average for a Characteristic of a Lot or Process

E177 Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods

E456 Terminology Relating to Quality and Statistics

E467 Practice for Verification of Constant Amplitude Dynamic Forces in an Axial Fatigue Testing System

E691 Practice for Conducting an Interlaboratory Study to Determine the Precision of a Test Method

E739 Practice for Statistical Analysis of Linear or Linearized Stress-Life (S-N) and Strain-Life (-N) Fatigue Data

E1049 Practices for Cycle Counting in Fatigue Analysis

E1150 Definitions of Terms Relating to Fatigue

Keywords

composite materials; delamination; double cantilever beam; frequency; maximum cyclic stain energy release rate; mode I; onset of fatigue delamination growth;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 83.120 (Reinforced plastics)

DOI: 10.1520/D6115-97R11

ASTM International is a member of CrossRef.

ASTM D6115