Effects of matrix toughness on fatigue response of graphite fiber composite laminates
The effect of the matrix toughness on the fatigue response of graphite-fiber-composite laminates was investigated by comparing the fatigue-response results, obtained using the test method of Bakis et al. (1989), for two graphite-epoxy specimens subjected to constant-amplitude fully-reversed loading, namely, (0/ +45/90/ -45)s4 AS4/PEEK samples with drilled center holes and T300-5208 samples. It was found that, although similar matrix damage modes were observed in the two materials, several significant differences occurred in the S-N data and in stiffness data taken over the lives of the two materials, especially at high cyclic stresses.