Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379

www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesa

Quantifying the effect of homogeneous and localized damage mechanisms

on the damping properties of damaged GFRP and CFRP continuous
and woven composite laminatesan FEA approach
C. Kyriazoglou*, F.J. Guild
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
Received 2 September 2003; revised 30 May 2004; accepted 4 June 2004

Abstract

The work reported in this paper describes the development of a hybrid methodology for evaluating the effect of damage on the damping
properties of woven damaged woven and non-woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP)
laminates. The main damage mechanisms considered are matrix cracking and tow fracture. Furthermore, the effect of highly localized
damage mechanisms on damping is analyzed, in the case of woven GFRP and CFRP laminates containing a circular notch. This hybrid
methodology is a synergy of laboratory observations and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) that eventually leads to the evaluation of the effect
of homogeneously distributed damage to a composite laminates damped response, analysis of the vibration of notched laminates that cannot
be provided for by continuum mechanics and the analysis of localized damage mechanisms in woven CFRP laminates and generally systems
that do not facilitate visual inspection of damage mechanisms.
q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: B. Transverse cracking; B. Vibration; C. Finite element analysis (FEA); Notch

1. Introduction
A considerable number of engineering problems are not
easily solved by analytical methods provided by continuum
mechanics. Quite frequently, a closed form solution, derived
from the governing set of differential equations that describe
the physics of the problem, cannot be obtained due to issues
such as geometrical complexity of the structures, material
non-linearity and discontinuities in the structure. Often
enough, those problems can be mastered by obtaining
approximate solutions to the governing set of differential
equations by utilizing Finite Element (FE) methods. The
flexibility of the FE method allows a great number of
loading types to be analyzed within a variety of classes such
as elasticity, dynamics, thermal distributions, transient,
wave propagation, and magnetic fields. A successful
implementation of the FE code in all the above classes
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: hyperen@hotmail.com (C. Kyriazoglou).
1359-835X/$ - see front matter q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2004.06.037
can be achieved, provided that the geometry and the type of
loading configuration are accurately defined and the
material properties of the analyzed structure are properly
characterized.
A particular area where FE methods could provide
significant insights is the prediction of damping properties
of vibrating notched and damaged beams. In the case of the
notched beams classical continuum mechanics are no longer
capable of dynamically analyzing a notched beam, due to
the discontinuity of the beam itself. In the case of the
damaged beams quantitative models and closed form
solution to predict the effect of damage on the dynamic
properties of the beams cannot be easily developed.
An extensive documentation on vibration testing
methods can be found in Gibson [1] and Zou et al. [2],
where the basic modal techniques are described and include
frequency response methods and frequency-domain analysis
or time-domain analysis to analyze the response of the
excited material or structure and extract values for the
dynamic modulus and loss factor; directly related to
damping ratios [3]. A concise description of the particular
368 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
technique of Steady State Method that constitutes the first
significant part of the hybrid damping formulation described
in the current work may be found in Kyriazoglou et al. [4].
In the testing method of vibration damping, the structures
are vibrated in their first mode of resonant vibration where
dynamic flexural modulus EFLEX and damping or Specific
Damping Capacity (SDC) data are extracted.
A series of micro mechanical approaches for the
estimation of the damping properties of a lamina and
consequently a laminate, as a function of the properties of
the constituent materials, i.e. resin and fibers have been
developed [5]. Most of the developed micro mechanical
models are fairly complicated in nature and do not differen-
tiate between the material and structural nature of damping.
Furthermore, FE estimations of damping were considered
with the development of additional purpose orientated
computer code to calculate strain energies either at a global
laminate level or at an element by element level [69].
2. Experimental convergence criteria
The hybrid methodology developed is a synergy of
laboratory observations and FEA methods. Laboratory
observations are the resonant frequency fres and maximum
displacement umax; which is an indication of the inherent
damping of the vibrating system, of a beam vibrating in its
first mode of resonant vibration. The above mentioned set of
experimental data is used as convergence criteria in the FEA
models. The convergence criteria of resonant frequency fres
and maximum displacement umax are identified by using the
Steady State Method which is schematically shown in
Fig. 1. Detailed description of the Steady State Method may
be found in Ref. [4]. However, some key features should be
highlighted. The vibration of the considered laminated
beam is driven by two small magnets that are attached
adhesively at each end of the vibrating beam. Thus, the
beam is driven symmetrically by an oscillating force Fexc
into resonance where fres and umax are extracted by an
oscilloscope and a laser device, respectively. The oscillating
force Fexc is induced by applying an alternating current i to
Fig. 1. Schematics of Steady State Method.
the two small magnets. The excitation alternating current i,
in all cases of experimentation had excitation amplitudes up
to 100 mA. The classical solution of the wave equation is
then used to obtain values for dynamic flexural modulus
EFLEX and SDC; this solution may be found very well
documented in Ref. [10].
3. Materials and experimental test coupons
3.1. Type of structures
All types of structures investigated in this study were in
the form of simple beam coupons. The types of lay ups of
those laminated coupons varied. The lay-ups and materials
tested were: (908/08)S continuous Glass Fiber Reinforced
Plastics (GFRP); woven (08,908) GFRP reinforced with six
layers of eight harness satin weave; woven (08,908) and
quasi-isotropic Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP)
reinforced with four layers of five harness satin weave.
Dimensions of test coupons subjected to vibration damping
testing are shown in Table 1. A circular notch of 5 mm
diameter was drilled at the center of certain test coupons.
Coupons containing the circular notch were dubbed notched
coupons.
3.2. Material preparation
For all GFRP coupons the resin matrix was an Astor Stag
epoxy resin system with a MNA Hardener curing agent and
a K61B accelerator. The reinforcement were E-glass
continuous fibers with a density of 2.56 gm/cm3. For the
woven GFRP systems, the resin matrix was a Shell Epikote
828 epoxy resin system with a MNA curing agent and K61B
accelerator. The fiber reinforcement was a Fothergill
Engineered Fabrics Ltd Y0227 E-glass continuous eight-
harness satin weave fabric. The cloth had an approximate
weight of 297 gm/m2 and the density of the E-glass fibers
was taken as 2.56 gm/cm3. The woven CFRP systems had a
Ventico M7750 epoxy resin system and the fiber reinforce-
ment was a T300 carbon fiber continuous five-harness satin
weave cloth.
4. Experimental damage observations
4.1. Homogeneous damage
In the case of the continuous (908/08)S GFRP coupons
damage was introduced to a series of test coupons by quasi-
static loading in tension. Each coupon was subjected to a
different maximum strain level in order to achieve several
distinct levels of damage. Damage was mainly in the form
of transverse matrix cracking and planar view of a typically
highly damaged coupon; with a crack density of 325 mK1
where crack density is defined as 1/(2S) where S is
 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379 369

Table 1
Test coupons and associate FEM

Laminate Material Type of Fiber Fabric type Test coupon Dimensions of associated FEM
lay-up structure reinforcement Length l (mm) Width b (mm) Thickness d
(mm)
(908/08)S GFRP Unnotched Continuous D6 200.00 12.00 2.13
(08,908)3S GFRP Notched Woven 8 HSW No. 1 201.00 12.40 1.78
(08,908)2S CFRP Unnotched Woven 5 HSW F24 230.10 26.00 1.56
(08,908/G CFRP Notched Woven 5 HSW F9 251.44 25.46 1.53
458)S
F7 251.40 25.80 1.58
F8 251.60 25.80 1.66
F10 245.23 25.56 1.53

the average spacing between large cracks, is shown in
Fig. 2. As it is evident, damage was evenly distributed
through the entire length and width of the damaged
coupons; hence it was considered that a certain damaged
area had the same effect on the global behavior of the
laminate, as another randomly chosen area. Consequently it
was considered that the homogeneous damage would have a
global effect on the damping properties of the investigated
coupons. Therefore, due to the symmetry of the presence
of damage, that type of occurrence was dubbed
homogeneous damage. Fatigue testing was used to
introduce damage to a series of woven (08,908) CFRP 5
HSW coupons. The damage mechanism present was mainly
transverse matrix cracking, and typical views may be shown
in Fig. 3, for coupons that were taken up to 10,000 cycles of
fatigue loading in tensiontension. Again matrix cracking
evolving within transverse tows appeared within several
tows throughout the entire length of the damaged coupons,
hence damaged was considered homogeneous.
4.2. Localized damage
The onset of damage mechanisms for the case of the
notched woven quasi-isotropic structures was in the form of
matrix cracking in the area adjacent to the notch.
Furthermore, as indicated in Fig. 4, damage was highly
localized and clustered around the edge of the notch.
Therefore, in comparison to the homogeneous distribution
of homogeneous damage, the present damage mechanisms
were highly localized.
The shape of the damaged area around the notch was of
great interest. Seemingly a small circular area surrounding
the notch had intense damage and that circular area faded
away following a diminishing triangular shape towards the
edge of the coupon. The observed shape of the damaged
area was symmetrical that is, it followed the same pattern
around both sides of the notch towards the edges. The tips of
the formed triangles were halfway between the horizontal
edges of the notch and the associated vertical edges of the
coupon. Once again, the transparency of the glass system
facilitated visual estimation of the damaged area. As it is
documented [11] after carefully de-plying a notched
damaged quasi-isotropic woven GFRP coupon, it was
found that damage was present only within the (08,908)
layers, whilst the G458 layers remained intact.
Since, the CFRP systems were not transparent, planar
views of the areas surrounding the notch could provide only
the indication of a disturbance but no clear information on
the nature of the damage mechanism. Furthermore,
localized damage was not at the surface of the coupon,
hence a view of a polished edge of the coupon would
provide no information on the type of damage mechanism
present in the area adjacent to the notch.
The assumption that the geometrical characteristics of
the damaged area formed the same type of area observed in
the case of the notched quasi-isotropic GFRP coupons was
considered logical. Furthermore, it was also assumed, as in

Fig. 2. Planar view of a highly damaged continuous (908/08)S GFRP. Fig. 3. Matrix cracking for coupon F20, fatigued up to 10 K cycles.
370 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
Fig. 4. Planar view of localized damage of notched damaged woven quasi-
isotropic GFRP coupon.
the case of the woven GFRP systems that damage was
confined within the (08,908) layers. Since no other
information could be extracted by simple planar or edge
views, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was utilized in order
to investigate further the type of damage mechanisms
present in the area surrounding the notch.
5. Construction of finite element model (FEM)
5.1. Finite element code and analysis type
Development of the finite element model (FEM) that was
the basis for the modeling of damping for damaged
composite notched and unnotched laminates can be found
well documented in Kyriazoglou and Guild [12]. However,
some significant parameters of that FEM should be high-
lighted. The commercial FE code of ABAQUS version
6.16.3 was used for this investigation [13], within which a
steady state dynamics analysis type was selected to
dynamically analyze and predict the damped response of
all considered FEM. Prior to the application of the steady
state dynamic analysis procedure, ABAQUS performed an
eigenvalue extraction step to extract the eigenvalues and
eigenfrequencies of the undamped system.
5.2. Choice of finite element
All FEM developed were, as in the experiments, in the
forms of beams. Dimensions of experimental test coupons
and associate FEM are shown in Table 1. The bending-
dominated problem of vibrations, involved the use of three-
dimensional solid continuum elements. The standard library
of continuum solid elements of ABAQUS contained the
solid eight-noded element C3D8, the reduced integration
eight-noded element C3D8R, the incompatible mode
element C3D8I and the solid 20-noded hexahedral elements
C3D20 and its reduced integration element the C3D20R.
However, it is generally known that shear locking is
common in first order C3D8 and C3D8R elements that are
subject to bending because the numerical formulations of
those elements give rise to shear stresses that do not exist;
this form of shear is generally known as parasitic shear.
Effectively such elements are too stiff in bending resulting
in non-accurate results and their use should be avoided in
bending-nominated problems. Generally first order
elements do not predict accurately the deformed mode
shape of a vibrating structure. From the C3D20 and
C3D20R elements which are both capable of predicting
accurately the deformed mode shape of a vibrating
structure, the C3D20 element has 27 integration points,
whereas the C3D20R element has eight integration points,
therefore, the use of the C3D20 element is almost 3.5 times
more costly computationally than the use of the C3D20R
element. Hence the FE C3D20R was selected for the
meshing of all FEM, which was of second order, 20 nodes,
reduced integration scheme and continuum solid element.
5.3. Damage modeling
Furthermore, when considering the effect of damage,
damage was considered to have a global effect on the
vibration of the considered test coupons and no-local effect.
Hence the material properties where simply modified and
wherever it would be necessary, highly damaged areas
would be modeled by applying a new degraded material; as
in the case of the highly concentrated damage around the
circular notch of the notched coupons. Progressive damage
was modeled by applying materials with progressively
degraded properties to the damaged areas.
5.4. Model size, computational time and stability
A parametric study was considered in order to investigate
the necessary number of FEs to solve the FE problem.
Models having the larger number of elements contained
approximately 2000 elements, whilst models having the
smaller number of elements contained approximately 800
elements. In both cases damped response predictions were
identical. Thus, in order to minimize computational time
taken to solve the problem, all FEM were assembled by 800
elements. Computational time taken was approximately
1800 s for all considered models.
5.5. Material modeling
The set of properties required as an input parameter to the
commercial FE code at a material level, in order to
sufficiently model the composite lamina elastic properties
 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
were Ex, Ey, Ez, Gxy, Gxz, Gyz, vxy, vxz, vyz The reinforcing
composite laminae that were used in the FEM were that of:
Unidirectional (UD) continuous GFRP lamina, woven cross
ply GFRP lamina reinforced with 8 HSW cloth and woven
cross ply CFRP lamina reinforced with 5 HSW cloth. All
required elastic properties required for the FEM may be
shown in Table 3 [12]. The concept of Rayleigh damping
was utilized to model the damping properties of the
vibrating experimental coupons in the associate FEM.
In FEA damping is generally treated in the form of a
matrix that opposes the excitation. The damping matrix can
be treated in two distinct ways. It can be viewed as material
property that exists before the implementation of the force
vector, thus it is related with the material itself or as purely
numerical object that is implemented upon the structure to
oppose the excitation force, thus related with the structural
characteristics of the vibrating system. Rayleigh damping
introduces damping into the vibrating structure, in the form
of a damping matrix [C]. This concept was introduced first
by Rayleigh, who expressed the energy dissipation mech-
anism responsible of damping, as a symmetric matrix of
coefficients. A further idealization to that concept is that the
symmetric damping matrix [C] is a linear combination of
the mass and the stiffness matrices of the system. However,
it is known that Rayleigh damping is strictly a mathemat-
ically convenient concept that has little basis as a physical
damping mechanism, and it is essentially a linear model.
Damping is generally known to be an amplitude dependent
phenomenon that is a non-linear phenomenon. However, the
damped responses of damaged beams that are considered
herein are not in the frequency domain, but rather focused in
the first mode of resonant vibration of coupon beams. The
experimentally observed oscillatory motion of all tested
coupons was considered to be sinusoidal. Equally signifi-
cant, for the relatively low stress levels that are involved for
the first mode of resonant vibration of all tested coupons, the
vibrations observed were a linear phenomenon. That can be
easily demonstrated by creating an excitation amplitude-
damping association for a typical vibration of a tested
coupon, extracted from the experimental data. Such an
association may be graphically expressed in Fig. 5, where a
typical vibration of a damaged cross ply GFRP coupon
beam is shown. The damaged cross ply had a crack density
of 325 mK1; crack density is defined as 1/(2S) where S is the
average spacing between large cracks, and it represents the
general linearity of all the damaged coupons vibrations. It
must be pointed out that these linear trends were found when
applying relatively low stress levels that induced the
resonant vibrations. Higher stresses have not been applied
due to experimental and instrumentation limitations.
Evidently linearity is demonstrated at low stress levels; in
higher stresses levels non-linear vibrations might be
induced. In Rayleigh damping, the damping matrix can be
defined as
C Z a !M C b !K (1)
371
Fig. 5. SDC increase in relation to excitation amplitude for a typical
damaged cross ply coupon beam with a crack density of 375 mK1.
where [M] is the mass matrix; [K] is the stiffness matrix; a is
the mass proportional damping factor and b is the stiffness
proportional damping factor.
It is considered that in Eq. (1) the a factor represents the
mass proportional damping, in the sense that it gives a
damping contribution proportional to the mass matrix [M].
The b factor represents the stiffness proportional damping,
in the sense that it gives a damping contribution pro-
portional to the stiffness matrix [K]. In the formulation of
Rayleigh damping, it is considered that mass proportional
damping effect is dominant in the lower frequencies and the
stiffness proportional damping is dominant at the higher
frequencies. Therefore, a and b are the attributes of the
lower and higher resonant frequencies, respectively.
It can be found that for a given mode i, the fraction of
critical damping which is calculated by the commercial FE
code, prior obtaining the damped response of the system and
considering only the mass proportional damping effect [13]
can be defined as:
a
xi Z (2)
2f1
Whilst considering only the stiffness proportional damping
effect
bf2
xi Z (3)
2
Therefore, if the operational range of the vibrating structure
lies between two given frequencies of the frequency domain
f1 and f2, the Rayleigh damping formulation essentially
considers that the fraction of critical damping of the
structure can be a superposition of the mass proportional
damping effect and the stiffness proportional damping
effect. The resulting fraction of critical damping xi for a
given mode i [13], could be expressed as:
a bu
xi Z C (4)
2u 2
372 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
Further development of the FE methodology for the
prediction of damping was based on experimental obser-
vations made during vibration damping laboratory testing.
Observations were made on the first mode of resonant
vibration, which as far as the frequency domain is concerned;
it is considered to lie within the range of low frequencies.
Therefore, it was considered that the effect of the higher
frequencies was negligible. Hence the mass proportional
damping was chosen to represent damping of the vibrating
structures. Ultimately only the mass proportional damping
factor a would be defined in all FEM constructed and the
stiffness proportional damping parameter b was assumed to
be zero, since the latter represented the effect of the higher
resonant modes. The mass proportional damping factor a
part of the Rayleigh damping formulation has been shown to
model satisfactory the experimentally observed damped
response of all tested coupons.
Certain values were assigned to the mass proportional
damping properties of each of the considered undamaged
constituent laminae which may be found identified in
Kyriazoglou and Guild [12] and those values are used in the
investigations considered in this documentation and may be
shown in Table 2. The mass proportional damping factor a,
is related to other damping properties such as the SDC or the
fraction of critical damping x for the first mode of resonant
vibration and this association is demonstrated by Eq. (7).
Eq. (7) is derived as following; in Adams and Cawley [3] it
has been well documented that the fraction of critical
damping x, can be defined in relation to the SDC of a
vibrating structure for a given mode i. Based on exper-
imental observations Adams and Cawley demonstrated that
x, for the first mode of resonant vibration of a vibrating
structure, may be defined as
x FEM, was dubbed aexp. If the FE prediction of maximum
SDC Z
4p
The authors stated that the above Eq. (5) is valid for
vibrating systems that demonstrate a value of (SDC) !
100%. Furthermore in the ABAQUSs/Standard Users
Manual [13] it can be found that
a Z 2xfundamped
where fundamped in the first natural frequency of the
undamped system for the first mode of resonant vibration.
Table 2
Mass proportional damping factors as undamaged material properties
Type of lamina Fiber geometry Mass proportional
damping factor a
Unidirectional GFRP Longitudinal (08) 0.2113
Unidirectional GFRP Transverse (908) 0.3827
8 HSW GFRP Woven (08,908) 0.182589
5 HSW CFRP Woven (08,908) 0.18108
5 HSW CFRP Woven (G458) 0.16611
Values were extracted from experimentation at excitation amplitudes of
iZ100 mA.
Its value is calculated as the square root of the eigenvalue in
an ABAQUS eigenvalue-extraction analysis step. There-
fore, by combining Eqs. (5) and (6), Eq. (7) is obtained
a Z 2xfundamped Z 8pfundamped SDC (7)
As it can be seen from Eq. (7) the mass proportional damping
factor a can be defined as a combination of the experimen-
tally defined (SDC) and the computed fundamped which is
extracted from an initial eigenvalue extraction FEA. Let it be
noted that in the initial FEA eigenvalue extraction step of the
undamped system, damping is neglected therefore the
knowledge of a is not necessary. Essentially the definition
of a in Eq. (7) is a two step procedure; the first step is the
experimental identification of (SDC) and the second step is
the eigenvalue extraction of the undamped system using an
eigenvalue extraction step of the commercial FEA code
ABAQUS. The computation of the Rayleigh coefficients a
and b are of the outmost significance if the FEM is to produce
results with physical validity. The significance of the
accurate computation of the Rayleigh coefficients has been
outlined in Mohammad et al. [14].
6. Experimental and FE approach
All coupons considered in the FEA approach, were tested
dynamically prior to the creation of their related FEM. Each
coupon considered was vibrated in its first mode of resonant
vibration and values of resonant frequency fres and
maximum lateral displacement umax were extracted. There-
fore, an initial calculation for the mass proportional
damping factor was taken from Table 2. This initial value
for the mass proportional damping factor needed for the
(5)
displacement was in agreement with the experimental
observation of that quantity then that constituted an accurate
simulation-prediction of damping. In the case of deviation, a
different assumption was made and the extent, to which the
FE formulation of damping deviated from the experimental
SDC values, was investigated. Therefore, in a sense the
(6) hybrid approach developed was of a distinct iterative nature.
This iteration may be graphically expressed in Fig. 6.
The initial mass proportional damping factors were used
for the beginning of the iteration; described in Fig. 6 as the
general convergence criteria. The results of the iteration
were the FEM estimations for the resonant frequency and
FEM
maximum lateral displacement, fres and uFEM
max , respect-
ively, and were considered to have converged to the
convergence criteria when the two pair of values when in
good agreement and differed by not more than 10%. If
agreement between those two pair of values was not
satisfactory, a different estimation for the mass proportional
damping factor was made, dubbed aFEM until agreement
was reached and that value was considered as the FE
prediction of damping of the considered coupon.
 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379 373

Table 3
Elastic properties required as a material property input for finite element
models

Type of lamina
UD GFRP Woven (08,908)S Woven (08,908)S
lamina GFRP lamina-8 HSW CFRP lamina-5 HSW
Ex (GPa) 46 21 47
Ey (GPa) 13 8.55 10
Ez (GPa) 13 21 47
Gxy (GPa) 5 3.5 3.5
Gxz (GPa) 5 3.7 3.78
Gyz (GPa) 4.6 3.5 3.5
vxy 0.3 0.0305 0.33
vxz 0.3 0.183 0.33
vyz 0.42 0.075 0.07

cracking in the transverse laminae, a theoretical model for the

Fig. 6. Iterative approach for FE damping prediction.
7. Experimental and FEM results
7.1. General
The initial FEM that contained no damage; gradual
modification of which resulted into modeling the entire
series of experimentally damaged coupons, was coupon D6.
The equivalent coupon in the case of the homogeneously
damaged woven cross ply CFRP coupons was coupon F24.
To initially model the notched behavior of a woven cross
ply GFRP coupon, coupon No. 1 was used. To extract the
a(G458)
FEM for the woven quasi-isotropic CFRP coupon a model
of coupon F9 was constructed. To evaluate the effect of
localized damage in a notched woven quasi-isotropic
coupon, initially a FEM of coupon F10 was constructed
that contained no damage. That model was appropriately
modified to model the increase of localized damage present
in experimentally damaged woven notched quasi-isotropic
coupons F7 and F8.
degradation of the Youngs Modulus of elasticity E2 of the
unidirectional GFRP lamina, in relation to the increasing
crack density was sought. One-dimensional shear lag
analysis was used to calculate the degradation of the Youngs
Modulus of elasticity E2 of the unidirectional GFRP lamina
in relation to increasing crack densities [15]. Therefore, the
gradual degradation of the Youngs Modulus of elasticity for
the transverse direction, E2 of the unidirectional lamina, from
its original value of 13 GPa; as indicated in Table 3, was
calculated for each of the FEM of the damaged continuous
cross ply GFRP coupons.
Consequently the degraded values of E2 were used to
calculate the effective flexural properties of the unnotched
continuous cross ply GFRP damaged coupons by using
classical lamination theory [16]. Such an approach would
create a relationship between the theoretical degradation of
the effective flexural properties of the damaged unnotched
continuous cross ply GFRP coupons and the increasing
crack density. Such relationships for the theoretical
degradation of the effective flexural modulus are compared
with the degradation of the flexural modulus which are
observed experimentally in relation to increasing crack
densities in Fig. 7. No damage mechanism was observed in

7.2. Evaluation of homogeneous damage

Since all the damage observations concerning the Fig. 7. Reduction of R (Eflex), in relation to increasing crack density for
unnotched continuous cross ply GFRP coupons, clearly unnotched damaged GFRP (908/08)S couponscomparison between
indicated that damage was initiated and propagated as matrix theoretical prediction and experimental values.
374 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379

the longitudinal laminae of the continuous damaged cross

ply coupons; therefore, the elastic and damping properties
of the longitudinal lamina remained unaltered with increas-
ing crack density, as the lamina remained undamaged until
the overall laminate reached failure. Essentially the mass
proportional damping factor of the longitudinal GFRP
lamina a08FEM remained constant and the iteration approach
was focused on the transverse GFRP lamina.
The mass proportional damping factor of the transverse
GFRP lamina a908 FEM was appropriately tuned, until conver-
gence of the global FEM with the experimental data of
resonant frequency fexp
res and maximum lateral displacement
uexp
max of the associated coupon was reached. The same
approach was taken for all damaged unnotched GFRP
(908/08)S FEM that represent the experimental coupons
which demonstrated a different crack density. Consequently
a series of increasing mass proportional damping factors
a908
FEM, in relation with increasing crack density were
obtained. Final relationships for the SDC of the transverse Fig. 9. Comparison between experimental values and FEM prediction for
GFRP lamina and the longitudinal GFRP lamina in relation max. Displacement for the same amount of excitation force, in relation to
with increasing crack density were obtained by utilizing increasing crack density.
Eq. (7). Such relationships may be graphically expressed in
Fig. 8 for all damaged FEM. Values for a908 FEM for the
the FE estimations for the damping contributions of the two
transverse GFRP lamina and the constant values of a08FEM for
constituent GFRP laminae. For the FE estimations of the
the longitudinal GFRP lamina, refer to certain cases of damping contributions of the two constituent GFRP
degraded laminae which are sub-parts of larger FEM. The laminae, the global model of the damaged coupons that
larger FEM are associated with certain physically damaged those laminae were parts of, converged using the iteration
coupons as mentioned before. The experimental rise in SDC approach satisfactory to the experimentally observed
of those physical global coupons in relation with increasing criteria of fexp exp
res and umax of their physically damaged

crack density is presented in Fig. 8 as well, in addition
Fig. 8. Comparison between increase of SDC for experimental models and
FE prediction for the contribution of each lamina to the overall increase, in
relation to increasing crack density.
unnotched (908/08)S GFRP analogues. Such satisfactory
convergence for maximum lateral displacement between the
global damaged unnotched (908/08)S GFRP FEM and their
physical analogs is demonstrated in Fig. 9 in relation with
increasing crack density.
Coupon F24 was taken up to four distinct numbers of
cycles of fatigue loading in tensiletensile mode in the effort
to create four distinct levels of damage. Classical exper-
imentation on coupon F24, performed after the completion
of each number of cycles indicated that the flexural modulus
of the coupon demonstrated no sensitivity at all to the
increasing number of cycles of fatigue loading. Therefore, in
the FEM that were constructed the elastic properties defined
for the woven cross ply 5 HSW CFRP lamina shown in
Table 3, were not altered. The basic FEM for coupon F24
remained the same except the mass proportional damping
factor of the woven cross ply lamina. Five different cases
were created where each case of FEM was representative for
each of the four different numbers of cycles in fatigue
loading. Therefore, the first FEM of coupon F24 contained
no homogeneous damage and the mass proportional
damping factor of the woven cross ply lamina a(08,908)
FEM had
initially a value of 0.18108. That value resulted in a
deviation for maximum lateral displacement less than 10%
which was acceptable. However, the iteration approach was
applied and the resulting mass proportional damping factor
 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379 375

Table 4
Damped response of experimental coupon F24 and associate FEM for various levels of damage

FEM No of cycles Mass proportional damping factor, a Resonant frequency, fres (Hz) Maximum displacement, umax (mm)
(K cycles)
a(08,908)
exp a(08,908)
FEM
exp
fres FEM
fres uexp
max uFEM
max

F24 7.5 0.2153 0.2567 103.088 100.608 1.1570 1.1610

11.8 0.2287 0.2721 102.918 100.607 1.0510 1.0530
14 0.2411 0.2824 102.223 100.607 1.0160 1.020
15 0.2686 0.3201 102.776 100.604 0.8864 0.8845

for the undamaged unnotched FEM of coupon F24, a(08,908)

FEM that was subjected to the highest maximum strain in quasi-
had a value of 0.1994. The second, third, fourth and fifth static loading in tension, the overall flexural modulus Eflex
FEM of coupon F24 represented the case of coupons taken would degrade only by 10%. Hence the same percentage for
up to 7500, 11,800, 14,000 and 15,000 cycles of fatigue degradation of the elastic moduli from their original values
loading, respectively. All related data may be found in was considered for the new woven cross ply 8 HSW
Table 4, whilst a comparison for the increase of mass material that formed the partitioned area surrounding the
proportional damping factors with increasing number of notch. For the new mass proportional damping factor of the
cycles of fatigue loading for FEM and experiment is partitioned area, dubbed a(08,908)
FEM -partition the iteration
graphically shown in Fig. 10. approach was taken with a starting value of the a(08,908)
FEM
that was the mass proportional damping factor used for the
undamaged woven cross ply GFRP 8 HSW material that
7.3. Evaluation of notch
formed the rest of the structure. All related factors may be
found in Table 5.
It was found that an increase of the mass proportional
damping factor a(08,908)
FEM ; related to the undamaged woven
cross ply lamina, was necessary in order for the FEM of the 7.4. Homogeneouslocalized damage association
notched woven cross ply GFRP coupon No. 1 to converge to
the experimentally observed maximum displacement uexp max, As a final step prior to proceeding to the FE simulations
from 0.182589 to 0.23939052, something that can be seen in of the notched woven quasi-isotropic 5 HSW CFRP coupons
Table 5 However, mass proportional damping was intro- F7 and F8, the effect of the notch on the woven quasi-
duced as a material property for the undamaged woven cross isotropic family of coupons, F9, F7 and F8 was considered.
ply 8 HSW lamina. Since there was no damage visible at a
global level that would logically lead to an increase of the
mass proportional damping factor a(08,908) FEM , something
obvious by a simple visual inspection since the glass system
was transparent, it was concluded that a very severe
disturbance must have been introduced to the area
surrounding the notch by the drilling procedure that was
used to introduce the notch.
Therefore, an additional FEM was created that contained
a further partitioning of the area surrounding the notch. The
remaining volume outside the partitioned area had the
elastic and damping properties of the undamaged unnotched
cross ply GFRP 8 HSW lamina indicated in Tables 2 and 3.
The partitioning of the area surrounding the notch had a
circular shape, and the circular partition had a diameter
slightly larger than the diameter of the notch and may be
graphically shown in Fig. 11. In the FEM of the notched
woven cross ply GFRP coupon No. 1, the notch and the
circular partition surrounding it, had their center at the
center of the FEM. The material from which the partitioned
area was formed was assigned degraded properties. The
estimation for the elastic properties of the new material was
based on a series of experimental observations [4]. A series
of mechanical testing were performed on the homoge-
neously damaged woven unnotched cross ply GFRP 8 HSW Fig. 10. Mass proportional damping factor a, for damaged coupon F24
coupons where it was found that for the case of the coupon comparison between experimental value and FEM prediction.
376 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379

Table 5
Comparison for damped responses for unnotched woven cross ply GFRP 8 HSW coupon No. 1 and associated finite element model

Exp. coupon Mass proportional damping factor, a Resonant frequency, fres (Hz) Maximum displacement, umax (mm)
a(08,
exp
908)
a(08,
FEM
908)
a(08,
FEM
908)
-partition exp
fres FEM
fres uexp
max uFEM
max

No. 1 0.16599 0.23939052 82.501 1.191 1.175

No. 1-partition 0.16599 0.182589 13.8947 82.501 83.1206 1.191 1.189

Consequently, a FEM of the notched undamaged coupon
F10 was constructed. Specifically, the FEM of coupon F9
was altered to contain a circular notch at its center, as
coupons F9 and F10 had the same geometric and mass
characteristics. The initial estimation for the mass pro-
portional damping factors of the woven 5 HSW laminae,
a(G458)
FEM and a(08/908)
FEM , may be found in Table 2. Numerical
values for all related data may be found in Table 6.
The FEM of coupons F7 and F8 were constructed and the
area surrounding the notch was partitioned further. The
partitioned area would be formed by a degraded material
with altered properties and would represent the area that
demonstrated localized damage around the notch for the
experimental coupons F7 and F8. Since the CFRP system
was not transparent and the pattern formation of the
localized damage paths were not visible, the shape of the
partitioned area followed the patterns observed for
the localized damage mechanism in the case of the woven
notched damage quasi-isotropic 8 HSW GFRP transparent
coupon. The shape of the partitioned area that contained the
degraded material in the notched damaged FEM is shown
graphically in Fig. 12 and the relative mesh of the
partitioned area in Fig. 13. The degraded material that
formed the partitioned area had the undamaged elastic
properties of the undamaged woven (08,908) 5 HSW CFRP
lamina. Localized damage was considered to have no effect
on the elastic properties of the woven CFRP lamina, in the
same sense that homogeneous damage had no apparent
effect on the elastic properties the woven CFRP lamina as
concluded for coupon F24.
The mechanism of localized damage in the area adjacent
to the notch was concentrated in the outer (08,908) woven
lamina [11] whilst the inner (G458) remained intact as the
number of fatigue cycles increased up to the point of failure
of the tested coupon. Therefore, degraded damping proper-
ties were thought only for the outer (08,908) laminae and
the iteration approach was applied only for the mass
proportional damping factor of the outer layers, a(08,908)
FEM . The
previously identified factors of a(G458)
FEM and a(08,908)
FEM for the
woven cross ply CFRP lamina were used a starting point for
the iteration approach. Surprisingly, it was found that those
values would lead the damped response of FEM of coupon
F7 to a very good convergence with the experimental
convergence criteria, whilst for the FEM of coupon F8 a
series of iterations were made for the a(08,908)
FEM factor until
convergence was obtained. Values for all related factors are
presented in Table 7.
8. Discussion
8.1. Evaluation of notch
For the FEM of the woven GFRP notched cross ply
coupon, further partitioning of the area adjacent to the notch
was required. The partitioned area was assigned degraded
properties thus assuming that the area was of a different
material. For characterizing the partitioned area and the
associate different material the following assumption for its
elastic properties were made. The in-plane elastic moduli
were that of the woven cross ply GFRP coupon that had the
highest degree of damage, and those values were already
available from quasi-static experimentation of the damaged
woven cross ply 8 HSW GFRP coupons and may be found
in Kyriazoglou et al. [4]. Again the degraded mass
proportional damping factor was tuned until the model
agreed with the convergence criteria. The remaining area of
the FEM of the notched coupon had elastic and damping
properties of the unnotched associate coupon. The degra-
dation of the woven cross ply GFRP elastic and damping
properties at a local sense implied that damage was present
in some form in the area surrounding the notch that was
probably introduced by the drilling of the notch. By visual
inspection of the actual notched coupon, some disturbance

Table 6
Comparison for damped responses for notched undamaged woven quasi-
isotropic 5 HSW CFRP wider coupon F10 and associate finite element
model

Exp. Mass proportional Resonant fre- Maximum displa-

coupon damping factor, a quency, fres (Hz) cement, umax (mm)
a(G458)
FEM a(08/908)
FEM
exp
fres FEM
fres uexp
max uFEM
max

F10 0.16611 0.18108 85.267 87.096 1.439 1.358

Fig. 11. Planar view of multiple partitioning of the area surrounding the 0.16611 0.18108 85.230 87.096 2.185 2.091
notch, for the FEM of the notched structures.
 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
Fig. 12. Planar view of partitioned notched area for FEM of coupons F7
and F8.
Fig. 13. Planar view of meshed partitioned notched area for FEM of
coupons F7 and F8.
was indeed present but was not conclusive and further
investigation on the issue of drilling was required.
When comparing the FEM of the undamaged unnotched
woven quasi-isotropic CFRP 5 HSW coupon F9 and of the
undamaged notched coupon F10 of the same reinforcing
material, seemingly no further partitioning of the area was
necessary. The elastic and damping properties of the
reinforcing material need not change at either a global or
local level, since for those material properties agreement for
the damped estimation of the FEM of coupon F10 with the
convergence criteria was satisfactory. The procedure of
insertion of the notch in the coupon F10 was indeed more
refined as the drilling was done by a more exact procedure
(diamond drill, etc.). Evidently there was no damage present
that altered the properties of the material surrounding the
notch.
8.2. Evaluation of homogeneous damage
Over viewing the finite models of the damaged
unnotched continuous (908/08)S GFRP coupons, it is found
that the mass proportional damping factors, which were
chosen to represent the damping of the coupons, varied
within a certain range of values. In particular, the mass
Table 7
Comparison for damped responses for notched damaged woven quasi-isotropic 5 HSW CFRP wider coupon F7 and F8 and associate finite element model
Exp. coupon Mass proportional damping factor, a
a(G458)
FEM a(08/908)
FEM
F7 0.16611 0.18108
F8 0.16611 3.86848
377
proportional damping factor for the damaged transverse
lamina, increased from 0.3827 to 1.7 just before the
laminate failed, as crack density increased. Knowledge of
the damage mechanisms for the majority of the damaged
coupons suggests that the damage was mainly in the form of
transverse matrix cracking of the transverse lamina. There-
fore, initially for the case of continuous cross ply GFRP
coupons, the range of values of the mass proportional
damping factor was associated primarily with the damage
mechanism of matrix cracking in the transverse direction of
the laminate. That association was considered to be a
characteristic of the integrity of the material.
Additionally, the same concept applied in the case of the
FEM of the damaged unnotched woven cross ply CFRP
coupons. In this case the values for the mass proportional
damping factor were within the range of, 0.1994 for the
FEM that had no degradation of material properties;
associated with zero cycles (0 cycles) of fatigue loading in
tension and 0.3201 for the model associated with the coupon
subjected to 15,000 cycles (15 K cycles) of fatigue loading
in tension. Again, by observing the polished edges of a
series of the damaged coupons it was found that damage was
initiated as matrix cracking in the transverse direction of the
908 tows and as the number of cycles increased the cracks
formed became intra-laminar but still in the form of matrix
cracking. Therefore, the above mentioned range of values
was associated with the various damaged woven cross ply 5
HSW CFRP laminae and was considered a characteristic of
the damage level demonstrated by those damaged laminae.
8.3. Homogeneouslocalized damage association
The FEM that were the basis of the investigation on the
effect of localized damage surrounding a notch were of a
quasi-isotropic lay-up. Although by a first glance, associ-
ating damage effects amongst different lay-ups seems
unreasonable, by a second consideration it can be seen
that this step is valid. This lay up was used since it was not
possible to introduce a significant and detectable amount of
damage in a woven notched structure that was of a cross ply
lay-up, since the laminates failed. As mentioned earlier
damage mechanisms were concentrated at the area
surrounding the notch only in the outer (08,908) woven
CFRP lamina and not in the inner (G458) lamina. There-
fore, the same (08,908) woven CFRP lamina was under
consideration still.
Hence, by a strict view of the mass proportional damping
factor values for the damaged (08,908) woven CFRP 5 HSW
Resonant frequency, fres (Hz) Maximum displacement, umax (mm)
exp
fres FEM
fres uexp
max uFEM
max
84.00 86.097 2.110 2.086
84.81 86.097 1.860 1.881
378 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
lamina when comparing the woven damaged cross ply
CFRP 5 HSW laminate; coupons F24 and the woven
damaged notched quasi-isotropic CFRP laminate; coupon
F8, it is surprising to find that the mass proportional
damping factor of the damaged portion of the (08,908)
woven lamina of coupon F8 is significantly larger than the
one demonstrated for all the cases of damaged layers of
coupon F24. In particular the former reaches a value of
3.80848 whereas the latter reaches a value of 0.3201 for the
lamina that demonstrated the highest level of damage. Since
the value of 0.3201 for the woven damaged unnotched cross
ply CFRP laminate is associated with matrix cracking in the
transverse tow, by mere logical deduction, there was a more
complicated damage mechanism presented in the area
surrounding the notch, which had to be tow fracture.
8.4. Mass proportional damping factors
The method developed to calculate the mass proportional
damping factors found by a combination of experiments and
FEA methods, leads in a good FE prediction of the damped
response of damaged vibrating beams in their first mode of
resonant vibration, for the case of relatively low excitation
stresses; stresses that are created by excitations amplitudes
up to 100 mA. The extracted mass proportional damping
factors seem to model well the damped response of the
undamaged material shown in Table 2. Modifying those
mass proportional damping factors for the case of damaged
coupons, leads in good prediction of their actual exper-
imental damped response. In general this method which is
based on the formulation of Rayleigh damping is accurate
for damaged beam vibration with excitation amplitudes
induced by currents up to 100 mA. Higher amplitudes might
induce non-linear vibrations which might lead to an
inaccurate prediction of damped responses.
9. Conclusions
Over viewing the effect of the notch on two different
types of coupons, namely a woven cross ply GFRP coupon
No. 1 and a woven quasi-isotropic CFRP coupon F10, it was
evident that when the notch is introduced to a material by
careful drilling and other refined methods, then its presence
would have no effect on the materials damping properties.
Generally implementation of the damping analysis on
notched structures can hopefully lead to the damping and
dynamic analysis of an entire group of structures that are
more complicated geometrically than simple beams.
The analysis of the damaged transverse lamina for the
case of the damaged (908/08)S continuous GFRP coupons,
allowed the investigation of damage mechanisms in
structures that cannot be analyzed experimentally. For
instance it is impossible to introduce damage to a 908
unidirectional laminate in tension, since such a laminate
would fail if subjected to mechanical loading in tension.
Such an investigation could be considered only within the
general framework of the cross ply laminate, or some
laminate that included other off axis fiber reinforcement,
and in addition to that with the use of the damping analysis
of the FE approach. Damping analysis of that kind would be
very difficult using classical continuum mechanics, and a
closed form solution in respect to increasing crack density
would be troublesome to obtain. Using the same philosophy
in approaching the damaged woven CFRP coupons, leads to
the observation that certain types of damage are linked to a
certain range of values for the increasing mass proportional
damping factors, and the variation was of the same order for
both types of materials.
An association of homogeneous damage with localized
damage was made. Mass proportional damping factors of
damaged coupons were considered, unnotched coupons that
contained homogeneous damage and notched coupons that
contained localized damage. Comparing the variation of the
mass proportional damping factor values within a certain
range; for the two cases of models, provided insights
regarding the damage mechanisms active in the case of the
notched coupons. Such insights are significant, since
damage concentration was within an area that was not
transparent and generally not easily evaluated by optical
methods and highly localized damage was investigated by
these means.
This association for the local damping properties of the
two coupons was the leap forward taken in this case, and the
most significant implementation of the FE damping
analysis. In addition to that, the evaluation of the localized
damage concentrated in an area adjacent to a notch, would
not be an easy task if the means of the evaluation were
extracted from a closed form solution based on a continuum
mechanics modeling of damage. Furthermore successful
development of forcedisplacement relationships for a
variety of structures, using a commercial FE code, is a
significant generic feature that may have a plethora of
applications. Generic forcedisplacement relationships may
be constructed to represent the damping properties of real
structures, more complicated geometrically than simple
beams. Indeed, it is evident that the FE approach for
simulation of damping described in this section provides
significant insights and clarifications to various engineering
issues, as long as it is used within a solid experimental
framework.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by EPSRC. We gratefully
acknowledge Professor PA Smith and Dr BH Le-Page from
the School of Engineering, University of Surrey for valuable
discussions, mechanical testing and provision of the woven
GFRP and CFRP test coupons. We gratefully acknowledge
Professor RD Adams from the Department of Mechanical
 C. Kyriazoglou, F.J. Guild / Composites: Part A 36 (2005) 367379
Engineering, University of Bristol for valuable discussions
in the area of vibrations and damping.
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