Fatigue damage and analysis of laminated composites: A state-of-the-art

Fatigue damage and analysis of laminated composites is an advanced and important study, owing to the complex nature of fatigue and increased use of laminated composites. A deeper understanding of fatigue damage mechanisms and analysis techniques is important, especially in today’s data driven world. Implementing automatic detection and control of damage and failure not only requires sophisticated instruments and decision making systems, but also needs a thorough understanding of related principles and methods to gather and predict data. So, this review presents state-of-the-art fatigue damage and analysis of laminated composites to help researchers build intelligent composite structures of the future accurately. First, the review presents the fundamentals of fatigue in laminated composites. Notably, laminated composites are extensively used in several industries, such as aerospace, wind energy, and automobiles, all offering different working conditions for the composites. So, fatigue damage and propagation under different loading conditions have been explained in the review. Next, the review presents different analytical, experimental, numerical, and nondestructive methods of fatigue analysis in detail. In particular, the review explains advanced tools of this analysis such as terahertz imaging, digital radiography, and guided wave ultrasonics, all forming elements of future fatigue analysis systems. Fatigue design and optimization of laminated composites based on the fundamentals given here is also explored in the review, highlighting the trend in industrial practices aiming at high strength-to-weight ratio. Along these lines, different methods of improving the properties of the composites to realize this aim have been proposed. Finally, the review presents case studies from different industries to shed light on today’s real world scenarios in the fatigue of laminated composites and scope for advancement.