VIBRATION FATIGUE TESTING AND MODELLING FOR IDENTIFICATION OF DAMAGE PROPAGATION IN COMPOSITES
Thijs Masmeijer (July 2021)
SUMMARY
This thesis investigates the initiation and crack propagation of interlaminar delamination of thermoplastic PEEK crossply components. One of the main objective is to understand the rate of delamination growth carried out under fatigue vibration testing. The experimental methods encompass several different measurement techniques such as Experimental Modal Analysis, High Cycle Fatigue, and Continuous Scanning Laser Dopller Vibrometry.
The thesis proposes a new workflow to breakdown the experimental procedure in set of blocks. The ambition is to overcome time consuming transient analysis to investigate how the interface forces at the delamination crack tip develops under fully reversible loading conditions such as R=1.
Several results will be presented and discussed throughout the thesis, each time indicating advantages and disadvantages of the proposed framework to analysis fatigue crack growth.