Mode II fatigue delamination growth characterization of a carbon/epoxy laminate at high frequency under vibration loading

Abstract A fatigue crack propagation test under mode II has been set up for unidirectional composite laminate characterization at high frequency. The specimen is clamped on a shaker and loaded on its first bending resonance mode. This dynamical test allows an accurate delamination extension monitoring based on the resonance frequency shift. Dynamical tests are conducted at 260 Hz and 400 Hz and their results are compared to those obtained with 10 Hz 3-ENF tests. Fatigue crack propagation results are presented taking into consideration the loading ratio difference between both test configurations. All results are collapsed in a unique propagation rate curve.