Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546

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Composites: Part A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesa

Monitoring of multiaxial fatigue damage evolution in impacted composite

tubes using non-destructive evaluation
F. Schmidt a,, M. Rheinfurth b, R. Protz c, P. Horst a, G. Busse b, M. Gude c, W. Hufenbach c
a
Institute of Aircraft Design and Lightweight Structures (IFL), Technische Universitt Braunschweig, Hermann-Blenk-Strae 35, D-30108 Braunschweig, Germany
b
Institute for Polymer Technology, Department of Non-Destructive Testing (IKT-ZfP), Universitt Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 32, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
c
Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK), Technische Universitt Dresden, Holbeinstrae 3, D-01307 Dresden, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Damage evolution in wound glass bre reinforced tubes due to impact (8.4 J and 14 J) and subsequent
Received 12 July 2011 biaxial cyclic loading is studied. Nominally defect-free and impact damaged specimens are compared
Received in revised form 30 November 2011 to investigate the effect of the impact damage on the fatigue life of multiaxial composites. Non-destruc-
Accepted 1 December 2011
tive inspection (air-coupled guided waves, thermography, high-speed photography, and microscopy) is
Available online 8 December 2011
applied to a subset of tubes. Air-coupled guided wave scans for characterisation of the delaminations
due to impact agree well with visual inspection. Decline in guided wave velocity is consistent to a
Keywords:
decrease in stiffness caused by fatigue damage. Using thermal imaging the impact is detectable during
A. Polymermatrix composites
B. Fatigue
cyclic loading. Strong anomalies of the surface temperature in the vicinity of the impact at the end of
B. Impact behaviour the fatigue life correspond to the initiation spot of nal failure observed by high-speed imaging. The con-
D. Non-destructive testing siderable effect of impact damage on the durability of the specimens is discussed.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Many investigations have studied the inuence of impacts on

Fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) have become the most impor-
tant material in lightweight construction. Due to their superior
specic strength and stiffness they are widely employed in aircraft
components and wind turbine rotor blades. These areas of applica-
tion involve a high number of load cycles during a lifetime of three
or more decades and are subject to high/low velocity impacts due
to hail, bird strike, or tool drop. Hence, the investigation of the
inuence of uni- or multiaxial fatigue loads as well as the effects
of operational defects such as impacts is required to predict fatigue
life reliably.
Basic inuences of fatigue behaviour and damage mechanisms
of composites under uniaxial cyclic stress are well understood
[14]. Fatigue damage can be divided into three successive stages:
matrix cracking (phase I), development of local delaminations
caused by matrix cracks (phase II), and consolidation of local
delamination leading to nal failure (phase III). The stiffness
behaviour is also divided into three stages: rapid decrease trig-
gered by matrix cracking within the rst 1020% of fatigue life
(phase I), followed by a weak quasi-linear decrease (phase II) and
rapid decrease caused by bre ruptures till catastrophic failure
(phase III). Multiaxially fatigue loaded composites show similar fa-
tigue behaviour and damage mechanisms [57].
Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 531 391 9921.
E-mail address: frank.schmidt@tu-bs.de (F. Schmidt).
the material behaviour of composites [813]. The most common
ways that create impact damage are low-velocity impact with an
instrumented drop weight tester and high-velocity ballistic impact
using an air gun [13]. High-velocity tests are particularly per-
formed to analyse the pure impact damages. In contrast, low-
velocity impact tests are carried out for investigating the inuence
of an impact pre-damage on the subsequent material behaviour, as
examined for quasi-static compression in [8,9]. Naik et al. carried
out impact and compression after impact studies of plain weave
fabric E-glass/epoxy composite for plates with different thick-
nesses and the same induced impact energy. The results have been
obtained in form of power ts for peak contact force, maximum
plate displacement, and residual compressive strength as a func-
tion of plate thickness. Sanchez et al. [9] examined the damage tol-
erance of thin quasi-isotropic, cross-ply and woven carbon/epoxy
laminates. Residual strength of the laminates was obtained as
functions of impact energy. The woven laminate exhibited the
highest residual strength under all impact energies. Kim and Ked-
ward [10] investigated hail ice impacts on carbon/epoxy compos-
ites with various lay-ups and thicknesses and dened a failure
threshold energy dependent on panel thickness and ice diameter.
Below this kinetic energy level, impacts onto a panel target pro-
duce no apparent damage. Slightly above this level, delamination
failure mode is observable.
Several authors have analysed the inuence of post impact
damage on subsequent fatigue behaviour for composites [1113].

1359-835X/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2011.12.002
538 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546

Kang and Kim [11] investigated the fatigue behaviour and variabil- damages due to impacts represent typical operational defects
ity of fatigue life in carbon/epoxy laminates with impact induced and non-destructive test inspections are applied to characterise
damage under tensile fatigue loading. A fatigue life prediction impact-induced delaminations and to monitor the evolution of fa-
model for impacted laminates was derived and veried by fatigue tigue in pre-damaged composites.
tests using constant amplitude loading. Mahinfalah and Skordahl
[12] determined the effects of hail damage on the fatigue tensile
2. Specimen preparation and pre-damage procedure
strength of a graphite/epoxy composite laminate. After impacting
by iceballs and aluminium spheres each coupon was subjected to
Nominally defect-free wound tube specimens for the investiga-
constant amplitude tensiontension fatigue. It was found that an
tion of biaxial loading fatigue are made of E-glass bre rovings
iceball impact with energy up to 27.4 J did not affect the fatigue
from Owens-Corning (OC111A) and a common resin material from
performance of this particular laminate, whereas an aluminium
Momentive (resin/hardener combination of RIM135/RIMH137 in a
(hard particle) impact at the same maximum energy signicantly
ratio of 100:30). These hollow cylinder specimens with 46 mm
degraded this material. Freeman et al. [13] investigated the low-
outer diameter, 328 mm length and approximately 2 mm wall
velocity impact properties and fatigue properties of carbon bre
thickness are produced using a custom-made winding machine
sandwich composites after impact in four point bending tests.
(enables manufacturing of arbitrary lay-ups) and resin transfer
However, the interaction of multiaxial fatigue damage mecha-
moulding (RTM). During the winding process, guide clamps with
nisms and operational defects such as impacts has been far less
pins are used for redirecting the rovings at the end of a sample
widely investigated.
and for uniform placement in arbitrary orientation angles. While
Several techniques (thermography, electric resistivity, ultra-
the rovings are wrapped around a mandrel, an integrated mecha-
sound, etc.) have been proposed for detection of manufacturing de-
nism for the adjustment of the thread tension and a variable num-
fects and operation-induced damage in composites. Optical lock-in
ber of guide rollers ensure accurate alignments and high tension.
thermography has shown to provide reliable results for detecting
The specimens consist of eight layers with a [0/45/90/45]S
delaminations in carbon bre reinforced plastic (CFRP) in a thick-
lay-up and relative mass fractions of 49% (0), 23% (45), 5% (90)
ness range of a few millimetres [14]. However, this technique fails
and 23% (45). Regarding the lay-up and the specimen congura-
for evaluation of mechanically induced stiffness degradation
tion the inner and outer 0-angled plies are parallel to the axial
caused by formation of matrix cracks. Measuring the increase in
direction of the tube specimen. Bonded steel inserts and GFRP-
electric resistivity due to evolution of matrix cracks has yielded
doublers of 70 mm length are used for reinforcement of both tube
some promising results for investigating fatigue in glass bre rein-
ends to prevent failure caused by the xing pressure of the ten-
forced plastic (GFRP) but additives such as carbon nanotubes are
siontorsion machine. In contrast to other specimen types, tube
required to provide conductivity [15]. Conventional ultrasound
specimens allow to investigate biaxial loads (combination of ten-
technique is being widely-used in industry to detect defects such
sion and torsion) with arbitrary load ratios and to prevent the
as delaminations in composites. Ultrasound attenuation and the
free-edge effect occurring in at specimens.
related stress wave factor revealed to be indicators for fatigue
For the assessment of impact related damage and its inuence
and impact damage [16]. However, this methodology involves
on the biaxial fatigue behaviour of composites, the nominally de-
structure-integrated sensors or complex coupling of the transduc-
fect-free tube specimens are pre-damaged in an impact test rig.
ers to the structural component to be tested. In recent years air-
The test rig is driven by pressurised air and consists of control pa-
coupled ultrasound in transmission conguration has been
nel, pressure tank, electrical high speed valve, barrel, velocimetry,
increasingly utilised in industrial applications such as aerospace
specimen, xture and containment (Fig. 1). An electrical controlled
engineering. Based on mode conversion between ultrasound in
valve is used to re the gun and two photoelectric beams measure
air and Lamb (guided) waves, single-sided inspection of composite
the velocity of the projectile. The specimens are clamped on both
plates was proposed [17]. Thermal and fatigue damage results in
sides. A hemispherical polyamide-projectile with a constant mass
decrease of guided wave velocity due to stiffness degradation of
of m = 100 g and diameter of 40 mm is used for low velocity im-
the composite [18]. Attenuation and phase velocity of guided
pacts with energies of 8.4 J and 14 J.
waves are sensitive to moisture content and micro-cracking [19].
Fatigue damage in tube specimens induced by mechanical cyclic
loading has been monitored using air-coupled guided waves [20]. 3. Mechanical testing
The present work investigates the effects of impact-induced
pre-damage on the damage mechanisms and fatigue behaviour The fatigue experiments are performed with a servo-hydraulic
within a German research-project (PAK 267). Pre-damaging by im- tensiontorsion machine. The theoretical maximum loads are
pacts is performed at the TU Dresden (ILK), single-sided air-cou- 250 kN in tension/compression and 2200 Nm in torsion. All fati-
pled guided wave measurements are conducted at the University gue tests are conducted in a force-controlled manner with R = 1
Stuttgart (IKT-ZfP), and mechanical testing and further non- and a frequency of 3 Hz. In order to distinguish different multiaxial
destructive testing are done at the TU Braunschweig (IFL). The load cases, a biaxiality ratio (parameter b) is introduced as follows:

Fig. 1. Impact test rig with tube specimen xture for impact pre-damage.
 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546 539

b arctans=r 1 fatigue testing, can be related to the static failure load. For an over-
view of these relations between fatigue loads and static loads
With the normal stress r and the shear stress s, the biaxiality
Table 1 is added.
ranges from pure tension/compression (b = 0) to pure shear
In order to monitor the damage mechanisms and to estimate
(b = 90) loads. The fatigue tests discussed in this paper are per-
the fatigue behaviour, all fatigue tests are divided into three repet-
formed at two different biaxial load ratios:
itive steps (Fig. 2): a characterisation step, a fatigue damage step,
and a discrete damage monitoring step. The characterisation steps
1. b = 30: combination of tension/compression and torsion with a
are quasi-static tests at a low maximum stress level conducted
predominant tension/compression part (relation s/r is 0.58).
with force-controlled ramps (pure tension force, pure compression
2. b = 60: combination of tension/compression and torsion with
force, pure positive and negative torsion moment, respectively) in
the shear part being dominant (relation s/r is 1.73)
order to calculate the Youngs and shear modulus throughout the
fatigue tests. The required axial displacements and the torsional
Various load amplitudes are selected on the basis of biaxial sta-
angle are measured by the internal displacement sensor of the test-
tic test results. These static tests were conducted with the same
ing machine and an external laser measurement system. The
biaxiality ratio b mentioned above and a combination of tension
fatigue damage steps consist of a specic number of load cycles
and positive shear load. By using measured static strengths the
with several loading congurations involving various cyclic fatigue
various cyclic fatigue loads, which lead to low-cycle and high-cycle

Table 1
Single values of loading programme, bre-volume ratios, and lifespan for selected specimens.

Specimen b () FVR (%) r (MPa) s (MPa) Cyclic load over static Lifespan (cycles)
failure load (%)
Nominally defect-free specimens
Tube60-1 60 52.02 44.9 77.8 45 11,890
Tube60-2 60 51.32 42.2 73.1 43 33,987
Tube60-3 60 51.19 37.9 65.6 38 179,891
Tube30-1 30 50.73 122.2 70.6 43 2450
Tube30-2 30 52.08 114.3 66.0 41 10,948
Tube30-3 30 51.97 107.0 61.8 37 36,154
Specimens with impact 14 J
Tube60-14 J-1 60 57.05 29.1 50.4 30 3537
Tube60-14 J-2 60 54.49 26.3 45.5 26 23,922
Tube60-14 J-3 60 54.69 21.5 37.3 22 130,128
Tube30-14 J-1 30 53.66 74.1 42.8 26 9249
Tube30-14 J-2 30 54.62 67.2 38.8 24 25,848
Tube30-14 J-3 30 53.64 61.5 35.5 22 94,930
Specimens with impact 8.4 J
Tube60-8.4 J-1 60 52.61 29.7 51.4 30 15,721
Tube60-8.4 J-2 60 52.20 28.7 49.8 28 95,593
Tube60-8.4 J-3 60 53.25 25.1 43.4 26 143,170
Tube30-8.4 J-1 30 50.88 87.7 50.6 32 3037
Tube30-8.4 j-2 30 53.07 78.4 45.3 28 38,584
Tube30-8.4 j-3 30 54.94 73.8 42.6 26 135,588

Fig. 2. Alternating fatigue and characterisation steps with respective discrete damage monitoring.
540 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546
load amplitudes (sinusoidal wave form) and biaxial load ratios. The
maximal loading of fatigue damage steps is taken as a percentage
of static strength. During each fatigue damage step, an infrared
camera and a high resolution camera in high-speed mode are used
to measure surface temperatures and observe the damage evolu-
tion, respectively. After several characterisation steps and fatigue
damage steps the fatigue test is stopped and the specimen is re-
moved from the tensiontorsion machine in order to monitor in
more detail the damaged regions and the impact area (discrete
damage monitoring). Thus, different non-destructive test methods
such as crack monitoring with a light microscope and air-coupled
guided wave measurements can be applied.
4. Methodologies for non-destructive inspection
Aim of the current work is to observe the different damage
mechanisms (matrix cracking, delamination development, damage
development caused by impacts and nal failure process) occur-
ring during fatigue. Therefore, various non-destructive inspections
such as thermography, optical damage and fracture analysis, crack
monitoring, and air-coupled guided wave measurements are
conducted.
4.1. Thermography
In order to use thermography as a non-destructive test method,
a cooling chamber between the clamping grips is installed, which
assures a constant ambient temperature of 19 C. Therefore, the
initial surface temperature of the tube specimens is also approxi-
mately 19 C. By using a mirror system of polished aluminium
plates, the surface temperatures of the rear side of tube specimens
can also be observed. During each fatigue damage step the heating
of tube specimens caused by cyclic loads is measured. Since the
heating due to the considerably smaller characterisation loads is
marginal, the tube specimens cool down to the initial surface tem-
perature of approximately of 19 C during each characterisation
step. Therefore, heating and cooling down repeat continuously
during each fatigue damage step and characterisation step, respec-
tively. The maximum surface temperatures of the tube specimens
reach no more than 30 C preventing potential damage of the ma-
trix due to high temperatures during each fatigue damage step.
The thermographic camera is triggered by the testing machine.
The surface temperatures after 100 sinus cycles of selected fatigue
damage steps of different specimens are evaluated to compare the
surface temperature development of all nominally defect-free
specimens and specimens with an impact. Thereby, the average
and maximum temperature differences T  T0 (subtraction of a
background image taken at the initial temperature from the infra-
red image after 100 sinus cycles) of two different areas are deter-
mined in several thermographic images (see left side of Fig. 3).
These temperature increases T  T0 after 100 sinus cycles of se-
Fig. 3. Typical surface distribution with evaluation areas (left) and development of surface temperature during fatigue life (right).
lected fatigue damage steps are depicted at the right hand side of
Fig. 3. Higher values of T  T0 imply a higher and faster heating
of the specimen during the analysed 100 sinus cycles of the se-
lected fatigue damage steps. Furthermore, the thermal imaging re-
veals spots with higher thermal activity (hot-spots).
4.2. Optical damage and fracture analysis
During each characterisation step of the fatigue tests, digital
images are taken with a high resolution camera to observe the
qualitative crack densities along the tube specimens, the initiation
or sizes of delaminations, and the damage development caused by
impacts. Using the aluminium mirrors allows for optical imaging of
90% of the tube surface. By using the integrated loop function of
the high resolution camera during the fatigue damage steps, the -
nal fatigue fracture of each tube specimen is recorded. The camera
is triggered by the testing machine and the limit set of displace-
ment control. Consequently, an analysis of the reason for nal fail-
ure (tension, compression or torsion failure and the effect of
impacts) and of the location of the fracture can be performed. In
addition, circumferential photos of the tubes are used for optical
damage analysis outside of the testing machine. This allows inves-
tigation of fatigue damage such as development of delaminations
and the damage development caused by impacts in more detail.
4.3. Microscopy for monitoring crack densities and delamination
developments
The tube specimens are transparent (similar refraction index of
resin and glass bre) allowing for monitoring of crack densities
with an optical microscope via transmitted light method during
the discrete damage monitoring step of fatigue tests. Cracks in each
layer orientation become visible as white lines in the respective
directions. Up to 15 different areas of each nominally defect-free
specimen and up to 20 different areas of each specimen with an
impact are studied using an optical microscope. For adjustment
of the images these areas are marked with a black or red dot, which
is visible in the middle of the images (compare Figs. 9 and 10). Ten
of these areas are close to the eld of the impact. Matrix cracks are
counted using photographically documented cracking states and
the number in each layer (0-,+45-, 90- and 45-direction) is re-
lated to the respective length of each direction depending on the
size of the digital image to calculate the crack densities. The result-
ing crack densities of each layer are average values of all observed
areas.
4.4. Air-coupled guided waves
The principle of single-sided inspection using air-coupled ultra-
sound transducers is illustrated in Fig. 4. The basis of this testing
methodology is selective excitation of guided wave modes in the
 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546
Fig. 4. Single-sided non-contact conguration for area scans and velocity mea-
surements [20].
tube wall. Matching the wavelength of the guided mode with the
pressure distribution on the tube surface at a certain frequency re-
quires the transmitter angle
h arcsinka =kg
where ka is the wavelength in air and kg the wavelength of the
guided mode [21]. In reverse, the guided wave radiates ultrasound
which is detected by the receiver. Interference between specular
reection and radiated ultrasound is minimised by a shield made
of cardboard and foam. The angle of the commercial transducers h
(17) is simply adjusted by searching for the maximum output sig-
nal obtainable at 207 kHz. Theoretical studies and simulations [20]
have shown strong similarity between the measured guided mode
propagating parallel to the cylinder axis and the lowest order anti-
symmetric plate wave. Resulting from the circular aperture of the
transducers (8 mm), the excitation length is in the order of one
and a half wavelengths of the guided mode. Therefore, this air-cou-
pled guided wave conguration tolerates minor deviations (4) of
the transducer angles from the optimal angle h. That allows the use
of the same settings for a variety of specimens with slightly differ-
ent thickness or stiffness. A burst of 10 cycles (square wave, 0
200 V) is used for excitation and for data acquisition a sampling fre-
quency of 25 MHz was employed. Phase and amplitude (at the exci-
tation frequency) of the output signal are calculated by a Discrete
Fourier Transformation (DFT).
For scanning of the tube wall, a device is employed which ro-
tates the tube by 360 and moves the transducers at a constant dis-
tance of 20 mm parallel to the tube axis (140 mm). A scan
resolution of 1 mm along the axis and 1.8/0.7 mm around the cir-
cumference is used. A Gaussian low-pass image lter (over three
pixels in circumferential and ve pixels along the axis) reduces im-
age noise while maintaining the maximum realistic image resolu-
tion achievable by using this air-coupled conguration. For the
amplitude scan, each pixel is normalised by the average grey value
of all pixels in the scan area. Amplitude scans before and after im-
pact are processed and compared for simplied damage detection
in the composite. This includes calculating of the deviation image/
matrix D between the grey values of the scan V of the virgin tube
and the scan I of the impacted tube:
D V=I
Besides the amplitude, the phase at each pixel is obtained and
2D phase unwrapping using the Goldstein algorithm is performed.
Air-coupled guided waves propagate only in the layers between
surface and an impact induced delamination (closest to the sur-
face) since debonding hampers propagation of the elastic wave
into the subjacent plies. The virtual decrease in wall thickness
541
due to delamination slows the a0-mode like wave down [20,21].
Maintaining a constant transducer distance, the decrease in phase
velocity due to a certain delamination depth can be calculated
from the measured phase shift.
Evaluation of the fatigue state is based on stiffness degradation
which affects the guided wave velocity. For measuring this indica-
tor of fatigue, the receiver moves in steps of 1 mm along the prop-
agation path of the wave away from the stationary transmitter.
During its translation, the scanning device maintains precisely a
constant distance between receiver and tube surface for accurate
measurement of velocity. The measured phase as a function of dis-
tance between the transducers is exploited to determine the wave
velocity. The receivers traveling distance of 70 mm results in an
average velocity over this propagation span of the wave. Twenty
measurements equally positioned on the circumference of each
tube (18/7 mm) were performed to calculate the average guided
mode velocity. The area of delamination caused by impact was ex-
cluded from the calculation. The standard deviation mentioned in
the following (Section 5) was calculated by repetitive scanning of
a virgin tube throughout the entire series of experiments.
5. Results and discussion
2
This section is concerned with the results of the experimental
investigation and their discussion. The acquired data of the im-
pact-induced damage are described by means of visual and ultra-
sonic inspection. The variation in durability of the composite due
to impact damage is identied by presenting SN curves. The
guided wave velocities are shown and discussed with regard to
crack densities and stiffness degradation. The obtained data using
thermography and optical fracture analysis is examined.
5.1. Impact description
5.1.1. Visual inspection
By visual inspection, the sizes and shapes of the delaminations
due to impact are determined (Fig. 5, top). The axial length of the
delaminations due to 14 J impacts is approximately 67 mm and
the circumferential width is about 38 mm (95). The 8.4 J impacts
lead to sizes of delaminations of approximately 48 mm length
and 29 mm (72) width, while the shape of the delaminations is
independent of the impact energy. Using microscopy a more de-
tailed analysis of the typical delamination areas and depths is
obtainable, which is depicted in the sketch of the delamination
area and its cross section (Fig. 5, bottom). Typically two main del-
aminations occur between the bottom interface of the 0 and 45
as well as between the bottom interface of the 45 and 90. Be-
side the large delaminations between these bottom interfaces, fur-
ther smaller delaminations are observed near to the impact
between the upper interfaces. Summarising, both low velocity im-
pacts lead to a similar shape of delaminations with different sizes.
The size of the deep-seated delaminations increases with impact
energy.
5.1.2. Air-coupled guided scans
The air-coupled guided wave scan (amplitude deviation from
average output) of an intact specimen shows the typical strip pat-
tern due to wave guiding of groups of 0 rovings as discussed pre-
3
viously [20] (Fig. 6, left). The amplitude scan after impact reveals
the size of the damaged area which coincides with visual inspec-
tion (Fig. 6, right and Fig. 5, top right). The deviation image of
the intact and the impacted tube displays selectively the area of
impact induced delaminations (Fig. 7, left).
A different approach using the phase of the output signal dis-
closes not only the size of the delaminations but also indicates
542 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546

Fig. 5. Photo of tube60-8.4 J-1 after impact (top, left); photo of tube30-14 J-2 after impact (top, right); schematic sketch of area and cross section of the main delaminations
(bottom).

Fig. 6. Amplitude area scan of tube30-14 J-2 before (left) and after impact (right).

the delamination depths. The unwrapped phase shift (Fig. 7, right)
reveals a decrease in velocity in vicinity of the impact spot. The
phase shift shows the typical arrangement of delaminations in-
duced by the impact event in the experiments. A small decrease
in velocity due to large deep-seated delaminations on the periph-
ery of the impact site leads to a perceptible phase shift. A large
phase shift and, hence, decline in velocity due to delaminations
closer to the outer surface of the tube is observable in immediate
vicinity of the incident spot (compare Fig. 5, right, and Fig. 7, right).
5.2. Durability study
Forty six specimens with and without impact are investigated
for the durability study. At fatigue loads used for specimens
without impact damage, the impacted composite tubes fail after
a few hundred cycles. To ensure a reasonable number of load cycles
till nal failure the external biaxial loads are reduced for the pre-
damaged tubes. The normal stresses r (for the biaxial load ratios
of b = 60 and 30) over the cycles till nal failure are depicted in
Fig. 8. For a subset of specimens (18 out of 46) with and without
impact damage detailed information is given in Table 1. This in-
volves the typical relations between fatigue and static loads, abso-
lute loading magnitudes, bre volume ratios, and number of cycles
till nal failure (the detailed data for the other specimens is very
similar and hence omitted). The results of the durability study
show that the slopes of all SN curves are nearly the same but
the stresses are considerably shifted to lower levels for pre-dam-
aged tubes: 33% and 26% at load ratios of b = 60 and 30, respec-
 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546
Fig. 7. Deviation image between intact and impacted tube30-14 J-2 (left) and phase shift scan with colour bar using radian/p (right).
Fig. 8. Comparison SN curves (only normal stresses): specimens with and without impact (left: biaxial load ratio of b = 60; right: biaxial load ratio of b = 30).
tively for 8.4 J impacts; 44% and 36% at load ratios of b = 60 and
30, respectively for 14 J impacts. The early nal failure at low
loads of all impacted specimens is initiated by the pre-damage.
This results in lower fatigue damage in the area outside of the im-
pact damage, which leads to a change in damage mechanisms and
fatigue behaviour compared to specimens without impact (ex-
plained in the next section).
5.3. Fatigue life monitoring
The fatigue life monitoring of specimens with 8.4 J and 14 J im-
pact is studied using nominally defect-free specimens as refer-
ence. Results of fatigue life monitoring for nominally defect-free
specimens are presented in [20]. Here, the results of crack moni-
toring, stiffness degradation, air-coupled guided wave velocities,
and thermography are only presented for specimens with an
8.4 J impact. The phenomena observed throughout the fatigue
tests using non-destructive testing are basically consistent with
the 14 J impact.
5.3.1. Visual inspection
By analysis of the photographically documented cracking/
delamination states and the circumferential photos, the develop-
ment of matrix cracks and size of the delaminations due to an im-
pact are observed throughout lifespan. Cracking/delamination
states of the areas of specimens with an 8.4 J impact show in some
cases a growth of the delamination (Fig. 9). The size of the delam-
ination of the bottom interface of the 45/0-layers (see Fig. 5) in-
creases about 34 mm throughout fatigue life. Furthermore, the
delaminations near to the impact (upper interfaces 90/45 and
0/45) also increase until nal failure, which is monitored by vi-
sual inspection using the optical microscope. Looking at the devel-
543
opment of the delamination caused by the 14 J impacts throughout
fatigue life shows no further growth of the delamination of the
bottom interface of the 45/0-layers. Nevertheless, growth of the
delaminations (upper interfaces 90/45 and 0/45) near to the
14 J impact can also be observed by visual inspection.
Considering lower external biaxial fatigue loads (see Table 1)
and comparative minor load cycles for these external biaxial fati-
gue loads due to early nal failure at low loads of all impacted
specimens mentioned above, less crack formation in the areas re-
mote from the impact is observed (Fig. 10). The averaged crack
densities (caused by different external biaxial load ratios and mea-
sured far away from the impact area) of the 45- and 45-layer
orientation for specimens with and without impact are depicted
in Fig. 11 (left: biaxial load ratio of b = 60; right: biaxial load ratio
of b = 30) and plotted versus the normalised lifespan of the spec-
imens. The averaged crack densities of these layer orientations of
specimens with impact are lower. The averaged crack densities of
the 0- and 90-layer orientations reveal the same differences.
However, in the vicinity of the delamination caused by impact a
higher crack density in the outer 0-layer is observed (compare
Fig. 5, top). The crack densities of the other layers in the vicinity
of the delamination are similar to averaged crack densities far
away from the impact area.
Consequently, the results of the delamination growth and of the
crack densities in the vicinity of the delamination caused by impact
reveal a local effect of the impact on the damage propagation and
the fatigue behaviour.
5.3.2. Stiffness degradation
The stiffness degradation for specimens without impact is lar-
ger than the one for impacted specimens (Fig. 12). Normalised
Youngs and shear modulus of nominally defect-free specimens
544 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546

Fig. 9. Tube30-8.4 J-1: circumferential images (top) at the beginning (left) and 88% (right) of lifespan; photographically documented cracking/delamination states (bottom)
and growth of the impact area after 1.5% (left), 66% (middle) and 98% (right) of lifespan.

Fig. 10. Development of matrix cracks: nominally defect-free specimen tube60-2 after 95% of lifespan (top) and rear side of specimen with impact tube60-8.4 J-1 after 98% of
lifespan (bottom).

Fig. 11. Crack densities over normalised lifespan for specimens with and without impact (left: biaxial load ratio of b = 60; right: biaxial load ratio of b = 30).

reveal the typical behaviour of a rapid decrease within the rst 10 crease of local stiffness caused by the small local critical damage
15% of lifespan followed by a slow, almost linear decrease till nal is negligible compared to the constant stiffness of the other areas
failure. The expected rapid decrease of both moduli within the last of the specimen. Due to the lower external biaxial fatigue loads
5% of the fatigue life cannot be monitored, because the rapid de- for specimens with impact (see Table 1, Fig. 8) and the lower num-
 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546 545

Fig. 12. Normalised Youngs and shear modulus over normalised lifespan for specimens with and without impact (left: biaxial load ratio of b = 60; right: biaxial load ratio of
b = 30).

Fig. 13. Normalised guided wave velocity throughout normalised lifespan for specimens with and without impact (left: biaxial load ratio of b = 60; right: biaxial load ratio of
b = 30).

Fig. 14. Temperature development over normalised lifespan for specimens with and without impact (left: biaxial load ratio of b = 60; right: biaxial load ratio of b = 30).

ber of matrix cracks in the areas away from the impact (Fig. 11),
the Youngs and the shear modulus decrease more slowly and re-
main at higher values till nal failure.
5.3.3. Air-coupled guided waves velocities
The decrease in guided wave velocity (Fig. 13) corresponds to
the observed stiffness degradation (Fig. 12) due to cyclic loading
for both the defect-free and the impacted specimen. A steep des-
cent in velocity within the rst 10% of the lifetime merges to a
gradual decrease till catastrophic failure. The difference in stiffness
degradation between the nominally defect-free and the impacted
tube over their lifetimes agrees well with the decline in velocity
which is large (78%) for the nominally defect-free and small
(about 2%) for the impacted specimen. A standard deviation of
1.3 m/s (0.1%) was calculated as discussed in Section 4.
Visual inspections of 8.4 J impacted specimens reveal if any
only small delamination growth of a few millimetres, which is
observed using air-coupled guided waves as well. During cyclic
loading and even just before catastrophic failure, visual as well
as ultrasonic inspection showed only a minor (hard to characterise)
change in the area damaged by the impact. The interfaces impede
light and ultrasound transmission thereby hampering visual and
ultrasonic monitoring of damage advancement in the area of
delaminations.
5.3.4. Thermography/optical fracture analysis
Similar to the stiffness degradation of nominally defect-free
specimens, the average and maximum surface temperatures
(T  T0) of nominally defect-free specimens (analysed after the rst
100 sinus cycles of selected fatigue damage steps) decrease within
the rst 1015% of lifespan (Fig. 14). In this phase of the fatigue life,
higher energy dissipation (heating) occurs due to the crack initia-
tion and propagation and shows a decrease due to crack saturation.
Following this decrease in thermal energy dissipation and after
matrix cracks reach saturation (compare Fig. 11), a uniform devel-
opment of heating is measured. Throughout that part of lifespan
local delaminations initiate randomly along the nominally defect-
free specimens and grow concurrently. The critical local damage
leads to a local temperature increase (hot-spot) and therefore,
546 F. Schmidt et al. / Composites: Part A 43 (2012) 537546
Fig. 15. Optical high-speed image at failure initiation (top), infrared image at
99.85 % (bottom) of tube60-8.4 J-1.
the measured maximum temperatures increase within the last 5
10% of lifespan.
Temperature measurements of specimens with impact show
differences to nominally defect-free specimens due to the consid-
erable lower external biaxial fatigue loads and the large delamina-
tion caused by the impact. Lower external biaxial fatigue loads lead
to a slower development of matrix cracks and therefore to slower
surface temperature increases throughout fatigue life, as shown
in Fig. 14 for a selected specimen with an 8.4 J impact. For each im-
pacted specimen, the delamination due to the 14 J or 8.4 J impact
causes higher thermal activity within the last 2025% of lifespan
and catastrophic failure. Therefore the maximum temperatures in-
crease earlier as compared to nominally defect-free specimens. The
spot with higher thermal activity is located inside the delamina-
tion caused by the impact (Fig. 15, bottom). Furthermore, the ver-
ication of the optical high-speed image at failure initiation reveals
that the catastrophic failure is caused by the delamination due to
impact (Fig. 15, top).
6. Conclusion
The specimens manufactured (using a winding machine and
RTM) and the NDT methods applied were qualied for monitoring
damage formation in composite with and without pre-damage
(low velocity impacts with energies of 8.4 J and 14 J) due to cyclic
multiaxial loading. The results of the air-coupled guided wave
scans (non-contact and single-sided conguration) revealed the
size, shape and depth distribution of the delamination areas which
has been veried by visual inspection of the transparent compos-
ite. Different low velocity impacts lead to a similar shape of delam-
inations (typically two main delaminations) with different sizes
and the growth of the delaminations depended on the initial size.
The durability study has shown lower fatigue strengths of biaxially
loaded composites with low velocity impacts, which lead to reduc-
tion of external biaxial fatigue loads to ensure a reasonable number
of load cycles till failure for specimens with impacts. Due to the
lower external fatigue loads for specimens with impact the average
crack densities (in the areas remote from the impact), the stiffness
degradation and the surface temperature development differed
from nominally defect-free specimens. All specimens with impacts
showed less fatigue damage (crack density, stiffness degradation
and corresponding guided wave velocity drop). The delamination
due to these low velocity impacts caused the earlier catastrophic
failure which has been revealed by thermography and optical frac-
ture analysis. Specimens with impacts showed an earlier develop-
ment of areas with higher thermal activity (within the last 2025%
of lifespan) compared to nominally defect-free specimens (areas
with higher thermal activity within the last 10% of lifespan). Hence,
thermography can be applied for the detection of fatigue damages
and impact damages being crucial for nal failure in an early stage
of lifespan. The air-coupled guided wave has revealed to be a
promising measure for fatigue damage state even for applications
where stiffness measurements and crack counting is hampered.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of this work (as
part of the project PAK267) by the German Research Establishment
(DFG).
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