Long term tensile properties of composite laminates

The ability to accurately predict the properties of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, a material that is gaining a wide range of uses in a multitude of industries, is a highly beneficial and sought after tool. Not only beneficial economically, it can help in significantly raising the safety level of structural components, such as the fuselage of passenger aircrafts, hence, literally saving lives. This report presents a detailed overview and description of the prediction procedure used to predict the long term tensile properties of composite laminates created from the L-930 Carbon Prepreg, mainly the fatigue strength of the composite under arbitrary conditions of temperature, frequency and stress ratio. The prediction of the CFRP composite’s static and creep strength is also obtained using the prediction procedure. The data used for the prediction procedure were obtained from the composite laminates undergoing tensile static and fatigue tests carried out at various constant strain rates (CSR) and temperatures using the MTS 810 machine. The validity of the data from the test results are also discussed to ensure the precision and accuracy in predicting the fatigue strength of the CFRP composite.Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering