High cycle fatigue behaviour of autoclave-cured woven carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite gears

The high cycle fatigue behaviour of autoclave-cured carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite gears is investigated. The CFRP gears were milled from a composite plate and tested in mesh with a steel drive gear under five torque loads ranging between 0.4 and 0.8 Nm in unlubricated conditions. A detailed gear damage analysis is conducted by employing scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution optical microscopy. Epoxy matrix microcracking is found to be the damage mechanism that leads to the final delamination failure. CFRP gears exhibited a significantly improved performance and a longer fatigue lifespan in comparison with the polymer and polymer composite gears.

Automated summary

The study investigated high cycle fatigue behavior of autoclave-cured carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite gears, identifying epoxy matrix microcracking as the main mechanism leading to final delamination failure. CFRP gears showed significantly improved performance and longer fatigue lifespan compared to other materials.