Accepted Manuscript

Experimental and numerical investigation of the effects of stacking sequence and

stress ratio on fatigue damage of glass/epoxy composites

Walid Roundi, Abderrahim El Mahi, Abdellah El Gharad, Jean-Luc Rebire

PII: S1359-8368(16)31093-9
DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.10.044
Reference: JCOMB 4642

To appear in: Composites Part B

Received Date: 20 June 2016

Revised Date: 21 September 2016
Accepted Date: 16 October 2016

Please cite this article as: Roundi W, El Mahi A, El Gharad A, Rebire J-L, Experimental and numerical
investigation of the effects of stacking sequence and stress ratio on fatigue damage of glass/epoxy
composites, Composites Part B (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.10.044.

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EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF STACKING

SEQUENCE AND STRESS RATIO ON FATIGUE DAMAGE OF GLASS/EPOXY
COMPOSITES

Walid Roundia, Abderrahim El Mahib, Abdellah El Gharada, Jean-Luc Rebireb

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Moroccan Laboratory of Innovation and Industrial Performance (LaMIPI),
Higher School of Technical Education of Rabat, (ENSET), Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco.

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b
Maine University, Acoustic Laboratory of Maine University (LAUM) CNRS UMR 6613, Avenue Olivier
Messiaen, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 9, France.
Abstract

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In the present paper fatigue behavior of glass/epoxy composite materials under different stress
ratios and for various plies orientation angles has been established. Experimental and numerical

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analysis (Finite Element Method) were performed on various specimens subjected to cyclic
tensile tests in order to outline the influences of stress ratios and the stacking sequence ([02/902]s;
[902/02]s; [03/90]s; [903/0]s) on glass/epoxy fatigue properties. Static analysis is done
experimentally to identify the stress-strain diagrams, strain to failure, Youngs modulus and

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tensile strength for each stacking sequence. Comparison between experimental and numerical
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prediction show good agreement. The Results of this investigation can lead us to choose the most
optimal stacking sequence for giving boundary conditions to achieve the maximum fatigue life.

Keywords: Composite; Fatigue; Stress ratio; Stacking sequence; Finite element method.
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1. Introduction

The increased demand for composites is mainly due to their variant applications in several areas
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in which lightness, rigidity and good resistance to damage are requested .Their use became more
and more important in a wide range of structural components which must withstand various
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types of constant and variable amplitude fatigue loads, such on the construction of several
frameworks in various areas (buildings, public works and transportations).

The glass/epoxy material is one of the most used composite, especially in aerospace and
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automotive applications, due to their high mechanical performances and low specific weight
comparing to other materials. In that fact, engineers and research scientists are required to
reconsider fatigue loading as an important factor which may lead to the fracture of this
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composite. Therefore, mechanical properties of glass/epoxy composite were a subject of

thorough and extensive studies. However, its more complex to characterize their fatigue
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behavior comparing to metal materials due to their micro-structural composition (anisotropy,

heterogeneity, fiber/matrix interface properties). Many studies [1-3] shows that the fatigue
behavior of composite materials is mainly due to the stiffness changes during cycles, which can
be divided into three stages: the first stage is characterized by a rapid decrease in stiffness and
the formation of damage zones with multiple microscopic crack. After in the second stage the
stiffness degradation became lower and substantially linear in function of the number of cycles,
more serious types of damage appears such emergence and growth of delamination, this stage
lasts about 90% of the total life. Finally the third stage is characterized by a high level of
stiffness degradation associated with a rapid development of all types of fatigue damage,
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including fiber/matrix interface failure and fiber fracture leading to an accelerated decline.
Authors [4-9] have investigated the various parameters (ply-drop configuration, number of plies
dropped at one location, stress ratios, laminate thickness, fabric type, loading condition, fiber
content) influencing the fatigue properties of composite structures. Brillaud and El Mahi [10]
show the significant influence of stacking sequence on transverse ply cracking in composite
laminates subjected to cyclic and repeated fatigue tests. Th. Johannesson [11] experimentally
investigates the fatigue strain limit of glass fiber/epoxy composite, in order to determine the

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influence of improved ductility of the matrix material on the strain limits. F.Wu and Plumtree
[12-14] have studied the damage evolution in a [45]2S CFRP laminate under block loading
conditions and damage development in carbon fiber epoxy laminates during fatigue tests.

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In that reason the aim of this study is to highlight at first the influence of the stacking sequence
on the fatigue behavior of a glass/epoxy composite submitted to cyclic tensile tests. Specimens

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have been manufactured with different stacking sequences ([02/902]s; [902/02]s; [03/90]s; [903/0]s),
in order to observe the impact of this geometric parameter in damage and crack development due
to fatigue. The second part of the experimental study will focus on the description and
characterization of effects of the applied stress ratios on the glass/epoxy fatigue proprieties. In

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this way specimens were submitted to cyclic loading under various stress ratios (R= 0.1; R= 0.2;
R= 0.3; R= 0.4; R= 0.5). Afterward, a finite element analysis was carried out to predict the
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fatigue behavior of specimens under similar conditions used in the experimental part, with the
same stacking sequences and applied stress ratio values. Numerical obtained results will be
compared and validate with experimental data.
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2. Material and manufacturing
The material considered in this work is a cross-ply laminated composites which are produced in
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the laboratory (LAUM) using a vacuum bag moulding technique. Composite laminates were
produced by a manual lay-up process from E-glass fibres of weight 300 g m-2 and epoxy resin of
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type SR1500/SD2505. They were elaborated with following proportion: equal part of fibres and
epoxy resin. Composite plates were cured at room temperature at a pressure of 30 kPa using a
vacuum bagging technique. Before any tests, the plates were left at room temperature for 2 to 3
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weeks in order to allow complete polymerization of the epoxy resin. The specimens (Fig.1) were
cut using a diamond saw from plates of 300300 mm2. The dimensions of the specimens are: L =
210 mm, w = 20 mm and th = 2.3 mm, where L, w and th are the length, width and thickness
respectively. The test specimens are always made with 8 layers of glass fibres for the four
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proposed stacking sequences which are: [02/902]s, [902/02]s, [03/90]s and [90/03]s (Fig.2).Table 1
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and Table 2 show the mechanical properties of the glass fibres/epoxy composite used during
experimental and numerical tests.

Table 1
Mechanical properties of Glass fiber
Glass fiber properties
Areal density Tensile strength Poisson's ratio Strain to failure Tensile modulus
300 g/m2 2500 MPa 0.25 4.8% 74 GPa
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Table 2
Mechanical properties of Epoxy resin
Epoxy resin properties
Youngs Modulus Tensile strength Flexural strength
2900 MPa 74 MPa 310 MPa

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Fig.1. Schematic illustration of the specimen dimensions used for static and fatigue tests
(in mm)
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[02/902]s [902/02]s
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[03/90]s [903/0]s
Fig.2. Schematic illustration of the four studied stacking sequences (in mm).
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3. Experimental Procedure

At room temperature, the samples of each stacking sequence were subjected under uniaxial
loading in static and fatigue according to the standard test method ASTM D3039/D3039M
(Fig.3). Three to five specimens were tested for each test in order to check the validity of the
results. The tests were carried out with a tensile machine equipped with a 100 kN load cell. The
strains in the tensile direction were measured by means of an extensometer with a gauge length

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of 50 mm. The static tests were performed with a displacement rate of 1mm/min. The fatigue
tests were performed using sinusoidal waveform with load control at a frequency of 10 Hz for all
the tests. Specimens were tested under various maximum stress levels (max). The applied stress

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ratio RF (ratio between the minimum and maximum applied stress: RF=min/max) was varied
from 0.1 to 0.5 (R1 = 0.1; R2=0.2; R3=0.3; R4=0.4; R5=0.5). All the fatigue tests were carried out
until the failure of specimens. The results allow us to plot the Whler curves for the different

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composites combinations and the fatigue life under the various stress ratios. Afterward, special
interest was focused on the analysis of all the obtained results to deduce the influence of these
parameters on the fatigue behavior and damage development on the tested specimens.

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Fig.3. Experimental setup

4. Numerical analysis
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In the second part, a numerical study was performed with a finite element method in order to
predict the evolution of the mechanical properties and fatigue life of the glass/epoxy composites.
Several geometrical models (3D models) for the four stacking sequences were created and
subjected to similar boundary conditions used in the experimental analysis to ensure the validity
of the finite element analysis. Applying material (see table 1 and 2), three-dimensional element
meshes and boundary conditions corresponding to maximum loading were generated. Fatigue
Analysis has three main methods: strain life, stress life and fracture mechanics. In this article, the
proposed fatigue study is the strain life method: this approach is widely used, its performed with
the finite elements analysis using a technique known as Rainflow counting [15-17]. The
literature offers a multitude of methods of counting cycles; the Rainflow method is the most used
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in the field of fatigue. This method defines a stress cycle as a closed hysteresis loop on the stress-
strain diagram i.e. converting the random loading to simple cycles. The algorithm for this
method was developed by Endo and Matsuishi [18] and allows the application of Miner's rule
and strain-life approach (Eq. (1)) to compute fatigue damage on each cycle (see Fig. 4). Note that
the calculation is nonlinear and is solved by iterative methods. Also note that 1 is the value used
for the concentration factor, assuming that the mesh is refined enough to capture any stress
concentration effects [19]. Dowling, Amzallag and Colombia [20-23] show that Rainflow

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counting is one of the best fatigue methods that lead to more precise results. Since the study of
Dowling [20], Rainflow counting is considered the method leading to best approximation of
service life. This method can be found using different algorithms in the ASTM E 1049-85

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standard as well as AFNOR A03-406.

The Strain Life Relation requires 6 parameters to define the strain-life material properties: four

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strain-life parameter properties and the two cyclic stress-strain parameters. The equation relating
total strain amplitude a and life (N) is as follows:

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f
a = (2 N )b + f (2 N )c (1)

Where:
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f is the Fatigue Strength Coefficient;
E is the Youngs Modulus;
b is the Fatigue Strength Exponent, slope of elastic strain line (Basquins exponent);
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'f is the Fatigue Ductility Coefficient;

c is the Fatigue Ductility Exponent, slope of the static strain line (Coffin Mansons
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exponent).
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Fig.4. Strain-Life approach [24]

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5. Results and discussions

5.1. Static Tests
The proposed results in Fig.5 depict the typical tensile stress versus strain curves obtained for the
glass/epoxy composites under static loading. It is clearly shown that the stacking sequences
configuration has a significant influence on the static behavior of the tested composites.
Different static properties are obtained for each stacking sequence (strain to failure, tensile

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strength, and Youngs modulus). It can be observed that the tested specimens do not fail
immediately under maximum loads and keep some residual strength until final failure. The
glass/epoxy composite [03/90]s exhibit a higher tensile strength (610 MPa) and around 2.66 %

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for the strain to failure. However, composite [903/0]s present the lowest static properties (tensile
strength about 205 MPa) among the four stacking sequences (see Fig.6).

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(a) (b)
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(c) (d)
Fig.5. Stress Strain curves for the different stacking sequences: a) [02/902]s, b) [902/902]s, c) [03/90]s and d) [903/0]s

The results of monotonic tests clearly confirm that the most resistant laminate is the one with
more plies (6 plies) in the loading direction i.e. the [03/90]s; in contrast, the least resistant
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laminate is [903/0]s with only 2 plies in 0. For the other two laminates, the results of the applied
stress are similar although the strain of the collapse is different.

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(a) (b)
Fig.6. Static properties: a) Tensile Strength, b) Youngs Modulus
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5.2. Fatigue Tests
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According to the experimental and numerical data it is notable that specimens with the stacking
sequences [03/90]s have a significant and more important lifespan. For instance, under an applied
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stress equal to 390 MPa, fatigue life goes between 650 and 940 cycles and around 13.103 cycles
under 270 MPa (experimental results), which exceeds the results obtained for the three others
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sequences (see Fig.7). The Gap increase when specimens are submitted to lower cyclic loading.
Its also observed that specimens with the stacking sequences [903/0]s have the lowest fatigue
strength among the four composites (Table 3).
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At applied stresses above the fatigue limit, fracture of specimens was observed. The proposed
results show that with decreasing of the applied stress, Whler curves obtained from
experimental and numerical fatigue tests for different stacking sequences converge and the
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percentage gap will be less. Three fatigue life behaviors namely low-cycle, high-cycle and
infinite life can be distinguished
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All predictions of the applied stress versus cycles to failure curves are rearranged into the form
of Basquins formula, as expressed in Eq. (2). Where a is the applied stress, A and b are
respectively the constant and the curve exponent, N is the number of cycles (Basquins equations
are shown on the curves).

a = A Nb (2)

Results of the influence of stress ratios on the fatigue behavior of glass/epoxy composite
demonstrate that the fatigue strength increase with R values for all fiber orientation angles.
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However, fatigue life decreases significantly as the stress ratio was lowered. More lifespan was
observed in specimens tested under a stress ratio R=0.5, and the lower stiffness is perceived
when R=0.1, which indicate that specimens will be quickly broken. The predicted fatigue
behavior under all loading conditions by the finite element analysis show good agreement with
the experimental results, considering complex behavior and the bigger scatter of composites.

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(a) (b)
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(c) (d)
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Fig.7. Whler curves for different stacking sequences (R=0.1): a) [02/902]s, b) [902/02]s, c) [03/90]s and d) [903/0]s

Table 3 Experimental results of the mean values of fatigue life for the four stacking sequences (R = 0.1)
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Applied Stress 130 MPa 175 MPa 260 MPa 305 MPa 350 MPa
Sequences
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[02/902]s 106 8.7 104 2 103 8 102 5 102

[902/02]s 106 6.2 104 1.5 103 5 102 3 102
[03/90]s 106 2.6 105 1.3 104 8 103 4.3 103
[903/0]s 4 103 4 102 0 0 0
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Fig.8. Fatigue life under R=0.1 and max = 390 MPa for [902/02]s composite

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(a) (b)
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(c) (d)

Fig.9: Lifetime vs Apllied stress ratios for different stacking sequences: a) [02/902] s, b) [902/02]s, c) [03/90]s and d)
[903/0]s
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The Fig.8 show the result of life prediction of the composite [02/902]s under max=390 MPa,
stress ratio R=0.1 and a frequency of 10Hz. The lowest lifespan was observed in the elements
with red color.
The fatigue life versus stress ratios level graph (Nr-R) is plotted according to experimental and
finite element analysis (see Fig.9) to show the significant difference of fatigue behavior at
various stress ratios values. Stiffness of the specimens was observed to reduce under higher
fatigue cycles, and damages in the form of delamination and fiber rupture starts when specimens

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are near to the rupture limit (see Fig.10). The results of fatigue life obtained with the finite
element analysis are slightly higher than values achieved from the experimental tests, this is due
to the process used in the FEM which ignores effects of residual stresses on the specimens

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behavior. The gap between the two approaches is less important with increasing of the applied
stress ratios.

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Fig.10. Damage evolution in the glass/epoxy specimens during fatigue tests

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6. Conclusion

Fatigue tests under various stress ratio levels have been investigated. Fatigue behavior of
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different stacking sequences has been compared. The Results show the significant effect of fiber
orientation angle on the static and fatigue performances of glass/epoxy composites. For
structures under higher applied stress, its more adequate to use the [03/90]s fiber orientations to
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achieve the maximum fatigue life. This study also highlights the strong influence of the stress
ratio R on glass/epoxy lifetime, and put in light the harmful impact of the stiffness degradation
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on fatigue strength. Therefore, its essential to choose the suitable glass/epoxy composite
configuration for each application.
Good agreement with experiment suggests that the glass/epoxy behavior is being correctly
modeled by the numerical finite element analysis.

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