# Progressive Damage Modelling and Fatigue Life Prediction of Plain-weave Composite Laminates with Low-velocity Impact Damage

**Authors:** Zheng-Qiang Cheng, Wei Tan, Jun-Jiang Xiong  
**arXiv:** [2106.09096](https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.09096)  
**Date:** 2021-06-16  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2106.09096v1/

## Key points

- Comprehensive study on progressive damage modeling and fatigue life prediction of plain-weave composite laminates with low-velocity impact (LVI) damage
- Development of a fatigue-driven residual strength model considering LVI damage and stress ratio
- Proposal of new fatigue failure criteria based on fatigue-driven residual strength concept and a fatigue progressive damage model
- Validation of proposed model through LVI tests on plain-weave glass fiber reinforced polymer 3238A/EW250F laminates
- Significant degradation of fatigue strength in plain-weave glass fiber composite laminates due to LVI damage
- Importance of load history in accumulation of fatigue damage in post-impact laminates
- Good agreement between new fatigue progressive damage model and observed fatigue life of post-impact laminates
- Ability to capture effect of load sequence for predicting fatigue failure in composite laminates
- Contribution to understanding the impact of LVI damage on the fatigue behavior of plain-weave composite laminates
- Valuable tools for simulating fatigue damage growth and predicting remaining useful life under real-world operating conditions
- Implications for industries relying on composite materials, including aerospace, automotive, and marine engineering.

## Summary

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the progressive damage modeling and fatigue life prediction of plain-weave composite laminates with low-velocity impact (LVI) damage. The authors develop a fatigue-driven residual strength model that takes into account the effects of LVI damage and stress ratio. They also propose new fatigue failure criteria based on the concept of fatigue-driven residual strength and a fatigue progressive damage model. To validate their proposed model, the authors conduct LVI tests on plain-weave glass fiber reinforced polymer 3238A/EW250F laminates. These tests are followed by post-impact constant amplitude tension-tension, compression-compression fatigue tests, and multi-step fatigue tests. The experimental results reveal that LVI damage significantly degrades the fatigue strength of plain-weave glass fiber composite laminates. Furthermore, the authors find that the load history plays a crucial role in the accumulation of fatigue damage in post-impact laminates. They demonstrate that their new fatigue progressive damage model achieves good agreement with the observed fatigue life of post-impact laminates. Importantly, this model is able to capture the effect of load sequence, which opens up new possibilities for predicting fatigue failure in composite laminates. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of how LVI damage affects the fatigue behavior of plain-weave composite laminates. The developed models provide valuable tools for simulating fatigue damage growth and predicting the remaining useful life of such materials under real-world operating conditions. This research has implications for various industries that rely on composite materials, including aerospace, automotive, and marine engineering.