Tensile fatigue behavior of tapered glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites containing nanoclay

Tensile fatigue behavior of tapered glass/epoxy laminates is investigated. The effect of nanoclay addition into the epoxy resin is examined. It is shown that the relative orientation between the adjacent belt layer and the cut layer has important influence on the fatigue life. The fatigue crack starts at the resin pocket and propagates along the interface between the belt layer and the core layer in the thicker section of the laminate. Crack propagation is mainly due to mode II crack failure. The addition of the clays enhances the resistance against this mode II crack propagation, and thus prolongs the fatigue life of the laminate.