Characterization of stiffness degradation caused by fatigue damage in textile composites using circumferential plate acoustic waves

The aim of this paper is to show the possibility of fatigue damage characterization in GFRP-tube-like components by using circumferential plate waves. For that purpose, fatigue tests with different loading directions have been conducted and the stiffness degradation has been monitored. After a preset number of loading cycles, non-destructive ultrasonic tests using circumferential plate waves were performed. The correlation between damage induced amplitude changes of the plate waves and stiffness degradation in non-crimped fabric composites is discussed. The results indicate that the technique is applicable to fatigue damage assessment in complex-shaped components of composite materials and is relevant to a wide field of applications. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.