Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

DOI 10.1007/s10443-009-9099-1

A Stiffness Degradation Based Fatigue Damage Model

for FRP Composites of (0/θ) Laminate Systems

Alireza Shirazi & A. Varvani-Farahani

Received: 2 April 2009 / Accepted: 28 July 2009 / Published online: 12 August 2009
# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009

Abstract The present study develops a stiffness reduction—based model to characterize

fatigue damage in unidirectional 0˚ and θ° plies and (0/θ) laminates of fiber-reinforced
polymer (FRP) composites. The proposed damage model was constructed based on (i)
cracking mechanism and damage progress in matrix (Region I), matrix-fiber interface
(Region II) and fiber (Region III) and (ii) corresponding stiffness reduction of
unidirectional composite laminates as the number of cycles progresses. The proposed
model enabled damage assessment of FRP (0/θ) composite laminates by integrating the fatigue
damage values of 0˚ and θ° plies. A weighting factor η was introduced to partition the efficiency
of load carrying plies of 0° and θ° in the (0/θ) composite lamina. The fatigue damage curves of
unidirectional FRP composite samples with off-axis angles of 0˚, 30˚, 45˚, and 90˚ and
composite laminate systems of (0˚/30˚), (0˚/45˚) and (0˚/90˚) predicted based on the proposed
damage model were found in good agreement with experimental data reported at various cyclic
stress levels and stress ratios in the literature.

Keywords Fatigue damage . FRP (0/θ) composite system . Matrix cracking . Fiber-matrix
interface . Weighting factor

1 Introduction

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are broadly used in various industries to

manufacture load-bearing engineering components with a high strength/weight ratio. FRP
components are extensively used in the aerospace and automotive industries. Durability and
fatigue damage assessment of these materials under cyclic loading conditions is of prime
concern and requires an extensive research investigation.
For predicting the life and modeling the damage of these components under cyclic loading,
many theories have been developed. Existing fatigue damage theories in FRP composites can
be classified into four categories: (i) macroscopic failure, (ii) strength degradation, (iii) actual
damage mechanisms, and (iv) stiffness reduction. The latter theory corresponds to the

A. Shirazi (*) : A. Varvani-Farahani

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto,
ON M5B 2K3, Canada
e-mail: ashirazi@ryerson.ca
138 Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

degradation of composite stiffness as fatigue cycles increase. Several researchers [1–7] have
investigated fatigue damage response of unidirectional FRP composites based on reduction of
composite stiffness as the number of fatigue cycles increased.
The present study develops a stiffness-reduction damage model published earlier by the
present authors [8, 9] to characterize fatigue damage of (0/θ) FRP composite systems while
taking into account the effects of cyclic stress magnitude, off-axis angle, mean stress and
matrix-fiber bonding strength with respect to the applied stress cycles.

2 Fatigue Damage Mechanism in FRP Composites

Any physically based damage model for a composite must use contributions from individual
constituents as building blocks to determine the overall damage to the composite. The peculiarity
of damage is that the three constituents of FRP composites (matrix, fiber-matrix interface, and
fiber) do not fail simultaneously. This is explained by their differing mechanical properties.
Under cyclic tension-compression excursions, matrix cracks are formed as an initial stage of
micro-damage process, which affects the residual strength and the life of a given laminate.
Damage initiation in the form of microcracks is normally formed at a local micro-defect such as
misaligned fibers, resin-rich regions or voids created during the fabrication process [10]. Once
initiated, matrix cracks grow in a multiple mode and number within the matrix over the life
cycles. Damage accumulation continues as more cracks integrate until they encounter a fiber,
leading to matrix-fiber interface. Damage progress at this stage may cause matrix-fiber
debonding and more reduction in stiffness of composite laminates. The later stage of damage
development is typified by increasing rate of progression of all damage modes resulting in
catastrophic fiber failure. The progressive development of damage during fatigue life can be
overviewed with the aid of Fig. 1, which represents the development of damage during the
fatigue life of unidirectional composite materials. In region I, multiple crack initiations within
the matrix are grouped together during the first 20% of the fatigue life [11–13]. Region II
commences as matrix cracks reach the vicinity of fiber. As the number of cycles increases a
crack grows along the fiber-matrix interface. This region is characterized with a larger life span
and a lower slope of damage progress. In region III, with shorter life span, fiber breakage
occurs shortly after damage being accumulated in the regions I and II [11].
The concept of damage accumulation may be used as a more suitable approach to predict
the fatigue life of structures of composite materials. However, fatigue damage cannot be
measured directly. Therefore, for quantitative evaluation of fatigue damage, Young’s
modulus or the stiffness of composite materials are often used to evaluate the fatigue
damage due to cyclic loading, using a damage fatigue index:
D ¼ 1
E=E0 ð1Þ
where D is the fatigue damage index ranging between 0 and 1, E0 is Young’s modulus of
the undamaged material, and E is Young’s modulus of the damaged material. Thus, the
extent of damage can be quantified by measuring Young’s modulus of the material over the
fatigue cycles.

3 The Proposed Fatigue Damage Model

The present study develops a stiffness degradation based fatigue damage model for FRP
composite laminates subjected to uniaxial fatigue cycles. This model is constructed based
Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150 139

Fig. 1 Three regions of cracking mechanism in unidirectional composites

on the fact that the stiffness of the composite just prior to failure is obtained by subtracting the
summation of stiffness-reduction values of matrix and fiber from the initial composite stiffness
(E/E0 =1). It is assumed that the matrix is severely damaged prior to final failure and fibers
are degraded up to a point where the composite can no longer withstand the applied load. The
full detail of the proposed damage model has been discussed in recent papers [8, 9]. The
proposed fatigue damage model takes into account the effects of off-axis angle θ, cyclic stress
magnitude, mean stress, and the fiber-matrix interfacial strength factor f as:
E 
D¼1
¼ Emq ½a þ f ðg
aÞ þ Ef q R*l ð2Þ
Ec
Terms Emθ and  Efθ take into account theeffect of off-axis angles and are defined as
Emq ¼ 1
Ef Vf Ec and Ef q ¼ Ef Vf ðcos q Þ Ec , respectively. Figure 2 represents the
variations of the elastic modulus and the shear modulus of typical GRP and CFRP
composites as the off-axis angle θ increases.
In Eq. (2), terms α, γ and λ are functions of the number of cycles to failure Nf and
progressing fatigue cycles N and are described as:
lnðnðN þ 1ÞÞ
a¼
ð3
1Þ
ln Nf
 
N
g¼ n ð3
2Þ
Nf
 
ln 1
n NNf
l¼   ð3
3Þ
ln Nnf

where n corresponds to the percentage of drop in stiffness recorded for a fatigue test. This
mainly shows to what extend the stiffness reduction versus fatigue cycles has been
controlled/ measured before the final failure takes place [8, 9].
140 Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

a 40
b 140
x
35 2 θ1 E
x 120 E
x
Modulus of elasticity (GPa)

Modulus of elasticity (GPa)

G G
30 y xy
100 xy

25
80
20
60
15
40
10

5 20

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
Off-axis angle (Degree) Off-axis angle (Degree)

Fig. 2 The elastic modulus response as off-axis angle changes for UD composites, a GRP, b CFRP [13]

In Eq. (2), the effect of stress ratio has been introduced by correlating the stress ratio R
with the maximum cyclic stress σmax and the ultimate stress σuts as R* ¼ 1
ðs a Þ=s uts ¼
1
ðs max ð1
RÞÞ=2s uts . Term σa corresponds to the cyclic amplitude stress.
The factor f in Eq. (2) is the representative of the fiber/matrix interfacial shear strength and
varies between zero and unity. For f=0, fiber/matrix interface strength is very low and as f
approaches unity, the fiber/matrix interface bonding improves in strength. The effect of interface
shear strength factor f as a function of number of cycles (f=aNβ) has been implemented in the
proposed damage model. Coefficient a is mathematically defined at N=1cycle and exponent β
is the slope of the f-log N curve. Coefficient a is defined  as a ratio of normalized shear stress
t s of composite to interfacial shear strength t i a ¼ t s t i Þ [8]. Quin-Dun et al. [14] defined
Ts* as a function of stress applied along fiber direction σ11 and fiber/matrix properties:
 

1=2
t s ¼ s 11 Vf Gf Gm Ef Vf Gm þ Vm Gf ð4Þ

where Gf and Gm are the shear moduli of fiber and matrix, respectively. It is noteworthy to point
out that the modifications of the damage equation by factor f merely addresses matrix and
matrix-fiber interface cracking and has no impact on the fiber breakage stage.

4 Fatigue Damage Analysis for (0/θ) FRP Composite Laminate Systems

Figure 3 schematically represents a (0/θ) composite lamina and its plies of 0° and θ°. The
framework for the discussion of fatigue damage in a (0/θ) composite configuration is the
lamina stiffness reduction as the number of fatigue cycles increases. The accumulation of
damage values in 0° and θ° plies to predict the life and damage of (0/θ) composite
laminates can be generalized by the use of the damage model equation developed earlier [8,
9, 15]. Equation (5) is developed to assess fatigue damage of FRP (0/θ) composite
laminates by integrating the damage values of two plies of 0˚ and θ˚ [9]:
     
E E E
1
¼ ð1
hÞ 1
þh 1
ð5Þ
Ec ½0=q Ec 0 Ec q
Weighting factor η has been introduced to partition the efficiency of load-carrying plies
of 0° and θ° in the composite laminates. Factor η was quantitatively estimated from the
Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150 141

0° Ply

(0/θ °) Plies

θ° Ply
Fig. 3 Schematic presentation of a (0˚/θ˚) composite lamina and its plies of 0˚ and θ˚

experimentally obtained damage value of (0/θ) and the predicted damage values of 0° and
θ° plies (i.e., D(0) and D(θ)) over life cycles. At a given number of cycles Ni , factor η is
defined as:
Dð0=qÞ
Dð0Þ
h¼ ð5:1Þ
DðqÞ
Dð0Þ

In a recent work [9], the present authors have shown how capable the Eq. (5) is in
evaluating damage progress of cross-ply (0/90) FRP composite laminates, as predicted
results showed good agreement with experimental data reported in the literature [16–19].
The employed factor η of 10–20% was found to be in good agreement with experimental
results of (0/90) laminates reported in references [17] and [20].
The proposed fatigue damage analysis method includes damage in (0/θ) composite and
its plies in three regions of D-N curves and reflects the cracking mechanism within three
regions from the early stage of growth to the final failure. Steps of the fatigue damage
analysis for (0/θ) laminate systems include:
(i) Determine initial data for damage analysis as fiber stiffness, matrix stiffness, composite
initial stiffness, fiber volume fraction, Poisson’s ratio, stress ratio, applied stress and
number of applied cycles to failure of 0° and θ° plies,
(ii) Calculate the fatigue damage in individual 0° and θ° plies based on the stiffness drop
Eq. (2),
(iii) Estimate the η factor and calculate the fatigue damage of (0/θ) composite laminates
using Eq. (5) and (5-1), and
(iv) Compare the predicted damage-fatigue cycles curve with the experimentally obtained
damage data.

5 Material Properties of 0 and θ Unidirectional Plies and (0/θ) FRP Composite

Laminates

Material properties of FRP composites used in this study are listed in Table 1. Table 2
presents fatigue testing details for FRP composite specimens. The derivation and
calculation of elastic moduli change with off-axis angle are comprehensively given in
Ref. [27]. Values of elastic moduli at any given off-axis angle are extracted from Fig. 2 and
142 Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

Table 1 Material properties of unidirectional GRP and CFRP composites

Materials Vf (%) Em (GPa) Ef (GPa) Ec (GPa) Gm (GPa) Gf (GPa) G12 (GPa) σuts (MPa) Ti (MPa)

GRP [2] 50 4.73 80 13.77 1.822 30 3.77 87.93 60

GRP [3] 25 4.73 72.4 8.423 2.9 30 2.381 44 44
GRP [5] 55 4.73 72.4 45.4 1.822 30 3.77 1203 41.35
GRP [16] 50 4.73 80 23.48 1.822 30 4.49 411.22 –
GRP [21] 50 4.73 80 44.8 1.822 30 4.4 166 48.26
GRP [22] 62 4.5 60.8 13.4 – – – 259.22 –
GRP [23] 33.8 4.73 41.2 10.1 – – – 196 –
GRP[24] 50 4.7 80 29 – – 4.5 592 –
GRP [25] 33.8 4.73 41.2 9.1 – – – 211 –
CFRP [17] 63 3.3 228 54.2 2.9 5.5 7.6 779 –
CFRP [18] 42.7 3.3 228 46.2 2.9 5.5 2.96 474 –
CFRP [26] 67.7 3.8 60 29.4 – – 9.6 390 –

are used to calculate Emθ and Efθ, in the proposed equations, by substituting Ex as Ec,
respectively.

6 Evaluation of the Proposed Damage Model

6.1 Unidirectional Composites

To assess the efficiency of the modified damage model in evaluating fatigue damage
of 0° and θ° unidirectional GRP composites as number of cycles increases, several
sets of fatigue data of unidirectional composite laminates with various stress
magnitudes, R-ratios, and off-axis angles were taken from the literature [2, 3, 5, 21,
22]. Table 2 represents fatigue testing details for GRP components performed at room

Table 2 Testing conditions for UD and GRP and CFRP (0/θ) composites used in this study

Materials θ° or (0°/θ°) Stress ratio-R Testing frequency (Hz) Specimen Geometry (mm)

GRP [5] 0 0.7 5 10×700×5

GRP [21] 0 0.1 10 25×250×2.6
GRP [22] 30 0.1 10 20×100×0.6
GRP [2] 45 0.1 10 25×250×2.6
GRP [3] 90 −1 6–8 12.7×130×3.3
GRP [23] (0/45) 0.025 10 20×160×3
GRP [24] (0/45) 0.1 20 20×127×2.66
GRP [25] (0/30) 0.025 10 20×160×3
GRP [16] (0/90) 0.1 3 22×200×2.2
CFRP [17] (0/90) 0 5 0.127 ply thickness
CFRP [18] (0/90) 0.1 3 610×610×3
CFRP [26] (0/45) 0.1 20 250×250×1.6
Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150 143

temperature under constant amplitude loading conditions and various stress ratios based
on ASTM D3090M.
Figure 4 presents a comparison between predicted and experimentally obtained D-N/Nf
curves for UD GRP composites at various off-axis angles θ° of 0°, 30°, 45°, and 90°. This
figure shows that the predicted damage curve based on the proposed damage Eq. (2) is in a
very close agreement with experimental data. Not only does the proposed damage Eq. (2)
address the progressive damage development in composite constituents of matrix, matrix-
fiber and fiber, it also includes terms to take into account the effects of cyclic stress
magnitude, off-axis angleθ, and R-ratio on damage assessment of UD GRP composites.
Details of unidirectional fatigue damage assessment of various off-axis angles by Eq. (2)
have been addressed in reference [8].

6.2 Cross-ply (0/90) Composite Laminates

To evaluate the capability of the proposed damage model in assessing fatigue damage
of (0/90) GRP and CFRP composite laminates at various R-ratios and cyclic stress
amplitudes, a few series of (0/90) experimental fatigue damage data have been
extracted from the literature [17–19]. Over 145 experimentally obtained uniaxial fatigue
damage data of (0/90) CFRP and GRP composites by Wharmby et al. [16], Daniel et al.
[17], Corum et al. [18], and Boniface and Ogin [19] were evaluated in a recent study by
the present authors [9].
Fatigue damage data [16] on GRP (0/90) composite laminates with fiber volume fraction
of Vf =50%, cyclic stress amplitudes of σ=210 MPa and 300 MPa, and stress ratio of R=
0.1 were plotted versus predicted damage results by the proposed damage model (Eq (5)) in
Fig. 5. Figures 6b and 6d respectively represent fatigue damage data of CFRP composite
specimens with a fiber volume fractions of Vf =42.7% [18] tested at the stress amplitude of
424.8 MPa and R=0.1 and CFRP specimens with Vf =63% [17] tested at the stress
amplitude of 662 MPa and R=0 plotted versus the predicted damage results. In Figs. 5 and
6, it is noticeable that the experimental damage data of (0/90) laminates fall between the
1
GRP Composites

0.8
Proposed Damage Eq(2)

Prediction
0
0.6 θ=0 , ε=0.014, Nf=7.09E6 cycles
0
θ=30 , σ =118 MPa, N =2.03E5 cycles
f
0
θ=45 , σ=45 MPa, N =1091 cycles
f

0.4 θ=900, ε=0.002, N =9.9E5 cycles

f

0.2

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/N
f

Fig. 4 Predicted versus experimental values of damage for UD GRP composites tested under various off-axis
angles θ and stress amplitudes [8]
144 Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

a 1
b 1
GRP
Pre. R=0.1
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5)

GRP
0.8 Pre.00Ply R=0.1 0.8 Exp.(0/900) Vf =0.5
Vf =0.5 σ=210MPa
Pre.900Ply Nf =1.11e6 Cycles
σ=210MPa
Exp.(0/900) Nf = 1.11e6 Cycles
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf
c 1
d 1
GRP GRP
Pro.
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Pre.00Ply R=0.1 Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5) R=0.1

0.8 Vf =0.5 0.8 Exp.(0/900) V =0.5
0 f
Pre.90 Ply
σ=300MPa σ=300MPa
Exp.(0/900) Nf =2201 Cycles Nf =2201 Cycles

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

Fig. 5 Predicted fatigue damage curves for 0° and 90° plies as number of fatigue cycles increases versus
experimental data of GRP (0/90) composite plies under stress amplitudes of a 210 MPa and c 300 MPa, b
and d predicted damage curve of (0/90) GRP composite based on Eq (5) vs (0/90) composite experimental
data [16]

predicted damage results for 90° and 0° plies. These figures also verify how successfully
Equation (5) characterizes fatigue damage of CFRP and GRP (0/90) composite laminates as
compared with reported experimental data.

6.3 (0/45) and (0/30) FRP Composite Laminates

Uniaxial fatigue tests were performed on GRP (0/45) laminate specimens [23, 25]. GRP
composite specimens with a volume fraction of 33.8% were tested with the stress ratio of
0.1 under cyclic stress amplitudes of 85 MPa and 95 MPa. CFRP (0/45) laminates with a
volume fraction of carbon fibers Vf =67% were tested [26] under a maximum cyclic stress
of 245 MPa and stress ratio of 0.1. Figures 7 and 8 show that experimental fatigue damage
data of (0/45) composite laminates fall between the predicted damage curves of 0° ply and
45° ply over fatigue cycles.
Ferreira et al. [23, 25] further conducted fatigue tests on GRP (0/30) laminates.
Composite specimens with a volume fraction of 33.8% were tested with the R ratio of 0.025
and cyclic stress magnitudes of 80 MPa and 110 MPa. In their studies, composite
Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150 145

a 1
b 1
CFRP
0 CFRP
Pre.0 Ply R=0.1
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5)

Pro. R=0.1
Pre.900Ply Vf =0.427
0.8 0.8 Exp.(0/900) Vf =0.427
Exp.(0/900) σ = 424.8 MPa
σ= 424.8 MPa
Nf =2.05e5 Cycles
Nf =2.05e5 Cycles

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf
c 1
d 1
CFRP CFRP
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Pre.00Ply R=0 Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5) Pre. R=0

0.8 Vf =0.63 0.8 Vf =0.63
Pre.900Ply Exp.(0/900)
σ=662 MPa σ=662 MPa
Exp.(0/900) Nf =37000 Cycles Nf =37000 Cycles

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

Fig. 6 Predicted fatigue damage curves for 0° and 90° plies as number of fatigue cycles increases versus
experimental data of CFRP (0/90) composite plies under stress amplitudes of a 424.8 MPa and c 662 MPa b
and d predicted damage curve of (0/90) CFRP composite based on Eq (5) vs (0/90) composite experimental
data [17, 18]

specimens included 30° plies surrounding a 0° ply. Figure 9 shows that experimental
fatigue damage data of (0/30) sit between damage curves of 0° and 30° plies over fatigue
cycles. Predicted damage results for GRP (0/30) laminates showed good agreement with
experimental data in this figure.

7 Discussion of Predicted Damage Results in (0/θ) Laminates

Figures 5 and 6 verify that the fatigue damage in (0/90) FRP composite laminate follows
three regions of cracking within the matrix, the matrix-fiber interface and the fiber. This
evidence has been well documented in the literature [e.g., 16, 18, 19, 28, 29]. Damage
curves presented in these figures indicate that for (0/90) cross-ply laminates most of the
stiffness reduction occurred during the first 10%–20% of the life of laminates. Parts (a) and
(c) in Figs. 5 and 6 highlight the fact that during the first 10% of composite life, most of the
stiffness reduction is due to damage in the 90° plies, and there is a minor stiffness reduction
in the 0° plies.
146 Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

a 1
b 1
GRP GRP
Pre.00Ply R=0.025
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5)

Pre. R=0.025
Vf =0.338
0.8 Pre.450Ply 0.8 Exp.(0/450)
Vf =0.338
σ=85MPa σ=85MPa
Exp.(0/450) N =2.8e6 Cycles
f Nf =2.8e6 Cycles

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

c 1
d 1
GRP
GRP
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5) Pre.

R=0.025
0.8 Pre.00Ply R=0.025 0.8 Exp.(0/450) Vf =0.338
Vf =0.338
Pre.450Ply σ=95MPa
σ=95MPa
Exp.(0/450) Nf =1.3e6 Cycles
Nf =1.3e6
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

Fig. 7 Predicted fatigue damage curves for 0° and 45° plies as number of fatigue cycles increases versus
experimental data of GRP (0/45) composite plies with Vf =33.8% tested with R=0.1 under stress amplitudes
of a 85 MPa and c 95 MPa, b and d predicted damage curve of (0/45) GRP composite based on Eq (5) vs (0/
45) composite experimental data [23, 25]

a b
1 1

CFRP
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5)

Pre.00Ply R=0.1 CFRP

0.8 Vf =0.67 0.8 Pre. R=0.1
Pre.450Ply
σ=245MPa Exp.(0/450) Vf =0.67
Exp.(0/450)
Nf =1.60e6 Cycles σ=245MPa
Nf =1.60e6 Cycles
0.6 0.6.

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

Fig. 8 Predicted fatigue damage curves for 0° and 45° plies as number of fatigue cycles increases versus
experimental data of CFRP (0/45) composite plies with Vf =67% tested with R=0.1 under stress amplitudes
of a 245 MPa and b predicted damage curve of (0/45) CFRP composite based on Eq (5) vs (0/45) composite
experimental data [26]
Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150 147

a b
1 1
GRP
GRP
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5)

Pre. R=0.025
Pre.00Ply R=0.025 Vf =0.338
0.8 Pre.300Ply Vf =0.338 0.8 Exp.(0/300)
σ=80MPa
Exp.(0/300) σ=80MPa Nf =7.99e5 Cycles
Nf =7.99e5 Cycles
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

c 1
d 1
GRP
Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(2)

GRP Proposed fatigue damage-Eq(5) Pro.

Pre.00Ply R=0.025 R=0.025
0.8 Vf =0.338
0.8 Exp.(0/300) Vf =0.338
Pre.300Ply
σ=110MPa
Exp.(0/300) σ=110MPa Nf =16237 Cycles
Nf =16237 Cycles
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf N/Nf

Fig. 9 Predicted fatigue damage curves for 0° and 30° plies as number of fatigue cycles increases versus
experimental data of GRP (0/30) composite plies with Vf =33.8% tested with R=0.025 under stress
amplitudes of a 80 MPa and c 110 MPa and b and d predicted damage curve of (0/30) GRP composite based
on Eq (5) vs (0/30) composite experimental data [23, 25]

In fatigue damage curves of FRP (0/45) and (0/30) composite laminates presented in
Figs. 7, 8 and 9, experimental data fall between the predicted damage curves of the two
plies in a narrower region than that of (0/90) laminates. These figures show that both plies 0
and θ have substantial contribution in damaging of (0/θ) composite laminates. A
comparison of damage curves for (0/90), (0/45) and (0/30) laminate systems (see Figs. 5,
6, 7, 8 and 9) verified that the higher angle θ° in FRP (0/θ) composite laminates resulted in
more damaging θ plies. It was also reported [16] that as the angle θ° increases, individual
plies of a laminate show less constraint against the cracks growing between the plies of 0
and θ. Besides, an increase in the θ angle of (0/θ) laminates affects the magnitude of
distributed shear stress along the interfaces of the fiber-matrix and the individual plies. In
(0/90) composite laminates under axial stresses, the magnitude of in-plane shear stress was
reduced to a minimum while the stress distribution normal to the fiber direction was
dominant. Experimental data of (0/90) laminates fell between 0° and 90° plies (Figs. 5 and
6) corresponding to the damage of 20% in the laminates and a sever damage in the 90°
plies. Daniel et al. [17] incorporated such severe damage into the initiation and propagation
of transverse cracking in the 90° layers of (0/90) laminates.
In (0/45) composite laminates, the closeness of the damage curves (see Figs. 7 and 8)
may suggest that cracking progress occurs along the inclined shear planes of 45° (fiber-
148 Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150

Fig. 10 Factor η versus fatigue 1

cycles for GRP and CFRP
(0°/45°), (0°/30°), and (0°/90°)
composite laminates 0.8

GRP (0/45) CFRP (0/45)

η=0.48-0.56 η=0.48-0.56
0.6

η-Factor
GRP (0/30), η=0.32-0.34
0.4

GRP (0/90), η=0.20-0.22

0.2

CFRP (0/90), η=0.12-0.19

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
N/Nf

matrix interface) where both shear and normal stresses are identical. Mandell et. al. [30, 31]
reported that in the (0/45)° laminates, cracks progressed in the 45° plies and laminates
failed soon after the damage became dominant in these layers. They also attributed the
actual modulus reduction over fatigue life cycles to the cracking in the 45° plies. In (0/θ)
composite laminates, as the θ angle decreases to 30° and lower, the composite laminates
become less damaging when subjected to axial loads. Figure 9 shows how close are the
damage curves of 0°, 30° plies and (0/30) laminates. In such composite laminates no
delamination growth between plies was reported [23, 25].
In damage assessment of (0/90), (0/45) and (0/30) laminate systems using Eq. (5), factor η
was estimated using Eq. (5.1) over fatigue life cycles. Figure 10 shows that the variation of
this factor is steady with a small decay over life cycles. Both GRP and CFRP (0/45)
components corresponded to an η varying between 0.48 and 0.56. Factor η also showed a
small variation of 0.10–0.20 and 0.3 respectively over life cycles for (0/90°) GRP and CFRP
and (0/30°) GRP composite laminates. A further study is required to include the effects of
interlaminar debonding, delimation of plies and the staking sequence of plies on the damage
assessment of composite laminates, which plots the next research step for the present authors.

8 Conclusions

The fatigue damage results predicted based on the proposed damage model were found to
be in good agreement for both unidirectional FRP composite samples with off-axis angles
of 0˚, 30˚, 45˚, and 90˚. The proposed model enabled damage assessment of FRP (0/θ)
composite laminates by integrating the fatigue damage values of two plies of 0˚ andθ°. A
weighting factor η has been introduced to partition the efficiency of load carrying plies of
0° and θ° in the composite laminates. Predicted damage results over fatigue cycles in
composite laminates of (0˚/30˚), (0˚/45˚) and (0˚/90˚) were found to be in good agreement
with experimental damage results taken from the literature. The proposed damage model
further addressed the shortcomings of earlier developed damage models by taking into
account the effect of mean stress, off-axis angle θ and interfacial parameter f.

Acknowledgments The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support by the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.
Appl Compos Mater (2010) 17:137–150 149

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