Analysis of Thermomechanical Fatigue Damage Progression in Short Fiber-Reinforced Composites Using X-Ray Computed Tomography

Due to the increasing applicability of short fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites in numerous industrial applications, it is essential to develop efficient models for assessing and predicting their fatigue life for optimal design and operation of components made of these materials. Due to material heterogeneity and complex fatigue response that covers not only mechanical fatigue but also the self-heating effect, i.e. dissipative heating coupled with mechanical response, the fundamental understanding of fracture and failure mechanisms driven structural degradation of these materials is of key importance. In this study, the progression of fatigue damage under fatigue loading has been evaluated with the presence of the self-heating effect and specific fracture mechanisms have been identified using X-ray computed tomography. The character and rate of progression of fatigue damage are reported together with specific fracture mechanisms for thermomechanical fatigue loading.