Predicting the fatigue life of T800 carbon fiber composite structural component based on fatigue experiments of unidirectional laminates

•Fatigue parameter acquisition of T800/epoxy resin system.•Fitting of key parameters in the constant life model.•Establishment of a progressive fatigue damage analysis method for laminates.•Fatigue life prediction of composite structural components. This study is based on the fatigue experiment results of unidirectional laminates and investigates the fatigue performance of T800 carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite structural components through experimental and numerical analysis. Fatigue experiments were performed on [0]16, [90]16, and [±45]8 laminates individually, obtaining the fundamental fatigue parameters necessary for modeling. The fatigue life model for T800 carbon fiber/epoxy resin unidirectional laminates was refined, and fatigue degradation rules were provided for the fatigue progressive damage model. A fatigue progressive damage analysis model for T800 laminates was established based on the 3D Hashin criterion, predicting the fatigue life and fatigue damage failure process of the laminates. A fatigue life prediction model was developed for T800 carbon fiber composite I-beam structural components, which can predict the primary types of fatigue failure, fatigue life and the location of fatigue failure occurrence. The predicted fatigue life of structural components shows good consistency with the experimental results. This method can calculate structural components including ply angles of 0°, 45°, and 90° and obtain the fatigue life contour.