Life prediction of short fiber composites

A procedure is described for estimating the fatigue lives (i.e. the number of cycles to failure) of parts made of short fiber reinforced thermoplastic matrix composites. First, S-N curves were generated at stress ratios of R = 0 and R = −1 for short glass fiber reinforced Copolyamide coupons with 0° (30% or 50% fiber content by weight), 45° (50% fiber content) and 90° (30% or 50% fiber content) fiber orientations. Second, these S-N curves were compared to data reported in the literature for a wide range of short glass and short carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics materials. On the basis of these comparison, all available data were “collapsed” on two S-N curves, one for R = 0 and one for R = −l.; The fatigue lives of short fiber reinforced thermoplastics were modeled by a Generalized Miner's Rule. Tests were conducted measuring the fatigue lives of 150 by 10 by 2 mm short glass fiber reinforced Copolyamide coupons under different types of cyclic loads. The fatigue lives measured in these tests were compared to those provided by the Generalized Miner's Rule, and good agreements were found between the test and model results.; The fatigue lives of two different parts (made of short glass fiber reinforced Copolyamide) were then investigated. The first one was a 150 by 10 by 4 mm coupon with a 2 mm hole at the center. The second one was an automotive gear shift link. The fiber orientations and the stresses inside these parts were calculated, respectively, by the commercial softwares C-Mold and by ABAQUS. The fatigue lives under different cyclic loads were measured; they were also calculated by the Generalized Miner's Rule together with the results of C-Mold and ABAQUS and the S-N data generated in this study. Comparisons between the measured and estimated (by the model) fatigue lives are in reasonable agreement, indicating that the procedure employed is a useful tool for estimating the fatigue lives of parts made of short fiber reinforced thermoplastics.