Post-impact Fatigue Response of CFRP Laminates under Constant Amplitude and Programmed FALSTAFF Spectrum Loading

Post-impact fatigue response of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Woven Roving Mat (CFRP-WRM) laminates under constant amplitude (CA) and programmed version of FALSTAFF (Fighter Aircraft Loading STAndard for Fatigue and Fracture) is presented here. Stiffness degradation as a function of number of cycles of loading at varying percentages of strength after impact (SAI) was investigated after subjecting the specimens to 53 J of impact. The stiffness loss can be classified into three ranges: primary, secondary and tertiary. The loss of stiffness as a fraction of failure life under programmed FALSTAFF loading was observed to be less severe compared to CA loading. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).