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International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417

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International Journal of Fatigue


journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfatigue

A study of factors affecting life prediction of composites under spectrum loading


V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis *
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, P.O. Box 1401, Panepistimioupolis Rio, 265 04 Patras, Greece

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The influence of damage accumulation metric, constant life diagram formulation and cycle counting
Received 13 December 2007 method on life prediction schemes for composite materials under variable amplitude (VA) loading is
Received in revised form 19 June 2008 investigated in this paper. Special focus is put on residual strength based methodologies; different deg-
Accepted 24 July 2008
radation functions are implemented and compared with the Palmgren–Miner (PM) damage accumulation
Available online 5 August 2008
rule. The predictions are validated by comparison with experimental data from a unidirectional glass/
epoxy laminate cycled with three different loading spectra. The effect of constant life diagram (CLD)
Keywords:
and cycle counting method used in life prediction is investigated through implementation of alternative
Composites
Spectrum fatigue
existing formulations. Results indicate that a net improvement is achieved when linear strength degra-
Damage accumulation rule dation is implemented as damage metric in life prediction schemes, over the state-of-the-art PM summa-
Constant life diagram tion. Depending on the spectrum pattern itself, CLD and counting method might be of predominant role;
Rainflow counting and the simplistic concept according to which a single S–N curve describes fatigue
response of the material under any loading condition (R ratio) are shown to yield consistently best life
predictions.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Life prediction methodologies under realistic VA fatigue consist


of three main modules: (i) Cycle counting of the examined spec-
Numerous publications concerning life prediction of composites trum, (ii) determination of fatigue life for each bin of the same con-
under cyclic loading of variable amplitude have appeared up to stant amplitude (CA) cycles using an appropriate constant life
date. For instance, see the works by Yang and Du [1], Hwang and diagram (CLD) definition and (iii) damage summation. In the pres-
Han [2], Adam et al. [3], Schaff and Davidson [4], Bond [5] and Phi- ent study, a comparison between different alternatives for each
lippidis and Vassilopoulos [6]. In most of these papers, specific life one of these three modules is attempted aiming to determine a val-
prediction methods are proposed and validated by comparison idated methodology for spectrum fatigue life prediction adequate
with experimental data from tests on standardized fatigue spectra, for engineering applications. The material considered is a glass/
e.g. on WISPER (Wind turbIne reference SPEctRum), FALSTAFF epoxy composite typical of those used in the wind turbine rotor
(Fighter Aircraft Loading STAndard For Fatigue evaluation), realis- blade industry.
tic spectra or block loading sequences. While many alternatives The most commonly used damage metric in this respect is the
are proposed regarding the various parameters of life prediction, well known Palmgren–Miner (PM) rule. It is a simple linear empir-
limited effort has been spent on studying their impact on the re- ical rule and even though it cannot account for load sequence ef-
sults based on a common experimental data set. fects which are encountered in practice, e.g. Poursartip et al. [12],
Investigations of the efficiency of Palmgren–Miner rule in com- Gamstedt et al. [13], it is widely used in structural design applica-
parison with different damage accumulation metrics were pre- tions. Alternatively, the use of static strength degradation or resid-
sented by Schaff and Davidson [4], Bond [5], Philippidis and ual strength, as damage metric in a life prediction scheme appears
Vassilopoulos [6] and Hosoi et al. [7]. The role of S–N curve formu- to be promising. Damage, in that case is expressed by the reduction
lation was treated by Nijssen et al. [8] while cycle counting effects of static strength of the material during cycling and is directly com-
on the predictions were considered by Nijssen [9] and Vassilopou- puted after each cycle of the loading spectrum. The degradation it-
los [10]. A comprehensive study of several life prediction parame- self depends on various loading parameters such as maximum
ters on standardized spectra was recently presented by Nijssen cyclic load, stress ratio, loading rate etc. In this case, sequence ef-
[11]. fects are taken into account, since the degradation after each cycle
depends on the loading characteristics of the current cycle as well
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 2610 969450; fax: +30 2610 969417. as on the loading history previously experienced by the material.
E-mail address: philippidis@mech.upatras.gr (T.P. Philippidis). Even in the case investigated by Broutman and Sahu [14], where

0142-1123/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2008.07.010
V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417 409

Nomenclature

X initial static tensile strength parallel to the fibers of a rmax(min) maximum/minimum applied cyclic stress
unidirectional (UD) composite rm mean stress, rm ¼ ðrmax þ rmin Þ=2
X0 initial static compressive strength parallel to the fibers ra stress amplitude, ra ¼ rmax  rm
of a UD composite N life cycles under constant amplitude fatigue
Xr residual static tensile strength n applied number of cycles
X0 r residual static compressive strength R stress ratio, R ¼ rmin =rmax
D Palmgren–Miner damage parameter r_ loading rate
ro, k Parameters of S–N curve power law equation

linear strength degradation is assumed, load sequence effects in fa- at a location 18.4 m distant from the root, on the main spar cap
tigue life are appropriately identified. area. It is derived from simulation of a power production design
Three predictive models, the first considering linear and the load case, corresponding to 21 ms1 wind speed and 10° yaw
other two non-linear strength degradation are investigated. Apart error encoded as DLC 1.2 NTM (Normal Turbulence Model) accord-
from the commonly used procedure, the weighted average range ing to IEC 61400–1 standard. Details on load cases considered,
(WAR) method, initially introduced by Dover [15] and modified calculations and results from fatigue design considerations of the
by Amijima et al. [16] and Brondsted et al. [17], is also considered. 30 m rotor blade were reported by Philippidis [24].
The other two modules in life prediction schemes under VA The work presented in this paper is engineering–oriented in the
loading are cycle counting and calculation of the fatigue life for sense that it deals with the effect on life prediction of different
each bin of cycles included in the loading series. Several methods modules forming a specific procedure used in fatigue design of
for counting cycles during variable amplitude fatigue have been composite structures. The procedure is phenomenological in nat-
established in the literature, varying from simple counting con- ure, i.e. it neglects the actual damage mechanisms, considering
cepts to more sophisticated algorithms. Some of the former are only their consequences as expressed by an S–N curve or constant
the peak, level crossing or simple range-mean counting algorithms, life diagrams. Although it would be preferred to possess mechanis-
while the latter includes routines under the general title of Rain- tic models, build on how micro structural damage accumulation af-
flow counting [18]. fects strength and stiffness of the material, such a widely accepted
While the use of a Rainflow method produces correct cycles in model for composites is not available. Taking into account the
terms of stress–strain events, the spectrum is inevitably rear- complexity and partial lack of knowledge in initiation, progression
ranged, since peaks and troughs even from distant sections are and interaction of failure mechanisms under spectrum loading
combined to produce full cycles. This fact possibly leads to neglect- consisting of all possible load combinations, i.e. tension–tension,
ing sequence effects that could play a significant role in fatigue life tension–compression, etc., life prediction procedures with empiri-
of composites. In the present study a basic investigation of the cal parametric modules are the only alternative for designers.
effect of counting method is attempted: On one hand the simple
range-mean Counting method and on the other a Rainflow method
2. Theoretical considerations
is implemented, which however, does not group the cycles but
retains their order as they arise during the progression of the
2.1. Damage accumulation methods
algorithm.
Finally, the calculation of fatigue life, usually performed
2.1.1. Palmgren–Miner rule
through an appropriate, experimentally derived constant life dia-
It is a simple and well known rule for damage accumulation un-
gram (CLD) or Goodman type formulation, can drastically affect life
der variable amplitude loading. Considering the case of m constant
prediction as has been recently pointed out by Nijssen [11]. The ef-
amplitude bins, each consisting of ni, i = 1, . . ., m cycles, character-
fect of the CLD choice is investigated through application of three
ized by a mean, rmi and a maximum, rmaxi stress, corresponding
different assumptions: The first one assumes linear interpolation
to a fatigue life Ni, the PM rule states that failure occurs when
to extract fatigue life between three S–N curves at R = 0.1, 1
the following relation is satisfied:
and 10 as implemented by Philippidis et al. [19], while the second
one is the phenomenological model proposed by Harris and co- Xm
ni
workers [20]. The third one assumes all cycles in the spectrum to ¼D ð1Þ
i¼1
N i
be described by a single S–N curve. More details are presented in
Section 2.2. In the present study D is taken equal to unity, following the
The predictions are compared with experimental results from common practice in composite rotor blade design and certification
spectrum fatigue tests on glass/epoxy coupons consisting of 4 uni- requirements.
directional (UD) layers, henceforth denoted as [0]4. Three loading
spectra representative of operating wind turbine rotor blades are 2.1.2. Weighted average range (WAR)
used. The first is the standardized WISPER loading spectrum devel- This method introduced by Dover [15] for life prediction in the
oped by Ten Have [21], the second is the NEW WISPER spectrum, case of a propagating crack in metals, was later modified by Amij-
Bulder et al. [22], developed in the frame of EU funded project ima et al. [16] and Brondsted et al. [17] for composite materials.
OPTIMAT BLADES [23], while the third one, henceforth denoted The concept is based on the Palmgren–Miner damage accumula-
by MWIND (abbreviation of MEGAWIND [24]), is a load series ob- tion rule and the definition of an equivalent stress level which
tained from aero-elastic simulation of fatigue load cases in rotor can be evaluated using CA fatigue life data: CA fatigue at this
blades. equivalent stress level would induce the same damage as the spec-
More specifically, the MWIND spectrum is representative of the trum considered, for the same number of cycles. For a power law
axial normal stress at the pressure skin of a 30 m split rotor blade S–N equation:
410 V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417

1  n p
rmax ¼ ro Nk ð2Þ X r ¼ X  ðX  rmax Þ ð8Þ
N
and the cycle counting results of a spectrum consisting of m CA
blocks, ni cycles each, the equivalent stress is given by: and which merely constitutes a generalization of the linear model,
"Pm #1 Eq. (4). Test results produced in the present work, indicate that
i¼1 ðni rmaxi Þ
k k
1 the exponent p is not a constant but rather a non-linear function
req ¼ Dk Pm ð3Þ
i¼1 ni of the nominal fatigue life fraction, independent of the stress level,
Philippidis et al. [30]:
Concept implementation requires no CLD information. Fatigue n
lives at all stress levels and stress ratios are calculated based on p ¼ k1 ek2 N ð9Þ
a reference S–N curve, as if all cycles belonged to that single stress The two parameters k1 and k2 are determined by applying the
ratio. equivalent static strength principle, proposed by Yang et al. [26],
on a residual strength data set including tests at various life frac-
2.1.3. Linear residual strength (BR)
tions and stress levels.
The linear residual strength degradation model proposed by
Under VA fatigue the OM model predicts residual strength using
Broutman and Sahu [14] is given by:
the equivalent number of cycles neqi discussed in the above.
n
X r ¼ X  ðX  rmax Þ ð4Þ ðni þneq Þ
i
N   k2 Ni
ni þ neqi k1 e
X in Eq. (4) denotes the initial static strength of the material and X ri ¼ X  ðX  rmaxi Þ ð10Þ
Ni
Xr the residual strength after n cycles of CA fatigue at the maximum
stress rmax . When a series of m fatigue blocks, each of length ni at a The latter is obtained by solving numerically for neqi the follow-
maximum stress rmaxi is applied, the residual strength is given by: ing transcendental equation at the beginning of each counted
m 
X  block:
ni
X rm ¼ X  ðX  rmaxi Þ ð5Þ neq
i
Ni   k2 Ni
i¼1 neqi k1 e
Failure occurs when the maximum cyclic stress exceeds the residual X ri1 ¼ X  ðX  rmaxi Þ ð11Þ
Ni
strength.

2.1.4. Interaction model (INT) 2.2. Constant life diagrams (CLD)


Since the assumption of linear degradation of static strength
proves to be conservative, especially for high cycle fatigue, when Three different types of CLD assumptions are implemented in
compared to experimental data, see Philippidis et al. [25], a non- this work. The first one, henceforth denoted LCLD, assumes the
linear model is used to better describe the phenomenon. A variety state-of-the-art linear interpolation between three S–N lines at
of such models has been published in the past; e.g. by Yang et al. R = 0.1, 1 and 10 in the mean stress–stress amplitude ðrm  ra Þ
[26], Adam et al. [27], Reifsneider [28], Sendeckyj [29]. The model space, however implemented as discussed in [6] and [31]. The S–
implemented herein is the interaction model (INT) by Harris and N curve parameters of Eq. (2) in the fiber direction of the Gl/Ep
co-workers [27] with a modified cycles parameter, t. It is based composite used in the analysis included herein are shown in
on the following degradation equation: Table 1.
All stress units are expressed in force normalized by coupon
n X r  rmax width (kN/mm), instead of (MPa), see Section 3.
tx þ r y ¼ 1 where t ¼ and r ¼ ð6Þ
N X  rmax The second CLD model, called BELL, is the model proposed by
The model includes two free parameters,  , calculated by fit-
x, y Harris and co-workers [20]:
ting Eq. (6) to residual strength data using non-linear regression.   
ra rm  u X 0 rm v
Considering the deterministic nature of the model, no more than ¼f 1 þ ð12Þ
X X X X
10–20 residual strength data (per R value), dispersed at different
stress levels and life fractions, are necessary for an acceptable X, X0 is the static tensile and compressive strength respectively,
implementation. while f, u and v are functions of the fatigue life, N; for the UD
When applied to VA fatigue, and considering the non-linear glass/epoxy composite considered herein, they were shown to de-
form of Eq. (6), the use of the ‘equivalent number of cycles’ is nec- pend linearly on log(N):
essary, e.g. see Schaff and Davidson [4]. As equivalent number of
f ¼ A1 log N þ B1
cycles, neqi , is defined the number of CA fatigue cycles that would
have brought the residual strength down to X ri1 , i.e. to its value u ¼ A2 log N þ B2 ð13Þ
when the ith block begins, under the current stress level rmaxi . v ¼ A3 log N þ B3
Residual Strength at the ith block is given by:
" The above functional forms are dictated by the experimental
  #1y
ni þ neqi x data, see Fig. 1. Derivation of parameters Ai and Bi is performed
X ri ¼ 1  ðX  rmaxi Þ þ rmaxi where ð7Þ as follows. First, the mean stress and stress amplitude correspond-
Ni
ing to known fatigue lives are calculated for the three known S–N
"   #1x
X ri1  rmaxi y
neqi ¼ 1 Ni
X  rmaxi Table 1
S–N curve parameters for Gl/Ep [0]4 laminate

2.1.5. OM model (OM) Stress ratio r0 (kN/mm) k

The second non-linear residual strength model implemented R = 0.1 4.35 9.74
herein is based on the following non-linear degradation equation R = 1 3.73 8.04
R = 10 2.49 23.88
used by several researchers:
V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417 411

4.5 By rearranging, the above equation is written as:


u
ra rm 1
4.0
f þ ¼ N k ð16Þ
ro ro
3.5 v
This is a generalized form of the Goodman diagram, expressing
3.0
constant life lines.
2.5 Obviously, S–N curves at various R-values, having different ro ; k
2.0 parameters, lead to alternative CLD formulations. Further, it can be
shown that theoretical predictions derived by implementing the
1.5
above CLD formulation along with the PM rule coincide with those
1.0 of the WAR method, discussed in Section 2.1.
The form of the CLD curves referring to different numbers of
0.5
fatigue lives is shown in Fig. 2.
0.0
2 3 4 5 6 7
3. Experimental data
Log (N)

Fig. 1. Reduced experimental data, UD Gl/Ep, and regression lines for functions Considerable experimental effort was spent on the characteriza-
f, u, v. tion of the material in terms of static strength, fatigue life under
various stress ratios and residual strength after fatigue. All tests in-
cluded herein were performed in the frame of the OPTIMAT
curves. Then f, u and v corresponding to each of those fatigue lives BLADES project [23]. A total of about 316 test data are used. Almost
are calculated by fitting Eq. (12) using non-linear regression to the all of the static, CA fatigue and variable amplitude cyclic tests in-
corresponding stresses in the ðrm  ra Þ space. Finally, Eq. (13) are cluded in this work were performed by University of Patras-Ap-
fitted to the pairs of f, u, v values and respective lives, logN1, logN2, plied Mechanics Laboratory (UP-AML), while the residual
etc., as shown in Fig. 1. strength tests were divided between the following laboratories:
For the Gl/Ep UD material treated in this work, the specific form UP-AML(GR), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory-Council for the Cen-
of functions f, u and v is given by: tral Laboratory of the Research Councils RAL-CCLRC (UK), Knowl-
f ¼ 0:2291 log N þ 1:8510 edge Centre-Wind turbine Materials and Constructions KC-WMC
u ¼ 0:3826 log N þ 1:7708 ð14Þ (NL), Risoe National Laboratory RISOE (DK) and Vrije Universiteit
Brussel, Department of Mechanics, Materials and Constructions
v ¼ 0:0065 log N þ 2:1695
VUB-MEMC (BE). Half of the test data used in this work was pro-
The third CLD assumption, henceforth denoted as R01, assumes duced by UP-AML. Several other participants have shared their
all cycles in the spectrum to be described by a single S–N curve, in experience and contributed in various ways for this experimental
this case at R = 0.1. Undoubtedly, the latter assumption is an over- program to be successful.
simplification, since it neglects the dominant dependence of fati- The material used is a Glass/Epoxy laminate, fabricated by LM
gue life on the stress ratio amid other important parameters. Glasfiber using vacuum infusion. The specimens were produced
Nevertheless, for certain spectra patterns, when all cycles remain with 4 layers. The E-Glass fabric consists of a non-woven unidirec-
relatively close to a single R-value it can lead to quite acceptable tional (UD) glass roving of 1150 g/m2, stitched with a CSM
results. (chopped strand mat) layer of 50 g/m2 and 50 g/m2 of 90° fibers,
In the (rmra) space, the above assumption implies that a con- resulting in total weight of 1258 g/m2. The resin used was ‘Prime
stant life line forms an isosceles triangle, subtending p/4 angles 200 from SP Systems, mixed with a slow hardener [32]. Coupon
with the rm-axis, its equation being derived by replacing rmax in geometry is shown in Fig. 3. Static and fatigue properties of the
Eq. (2) by (rm + ra): material were reported by Philippidis et al. [33,34].
All stress units are expressed in force normalized by coupon
ro
ra ¼ 1
 rm ð15Þ width (kN/mm), instead of (MPa), as decided by the OPTIMAT
Nk BLADES [23] consortium to bypass differences in thickness mea-

0.8
R=-1 1E+03
0.7
1E+04
Stress Amplitude / UTS

0.6 1E+05
1E+06
R=10 0.5
R=0.1
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
-0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Mean Stress / UTS

Fig. 2. Plot of the three CLD formulations implemented: LCLD in thick solid, BELL in
dashed and R01 in thin lines. Fig. 3. Geometry of the [0]4 coupon.
412 V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417

surements from the various labs. The latter arose when measuring and are not correlated to fiber volume fraction, vf. Indeed, UD cou-
at one or several points along coupon length or measuring thick- pons tested were cut from 52 plates (1520  500 mm) with aver-
ness before or after surface treatment for proper bonding of strain age vf equal to 52.057% and coefficient of variation not greater
gauges, thermal resistance or other sensors. Variations in thickness than 2.55%.
were mostly attributed to the outer finish formed by the peel ply, The residual strength tests used for model implementation
were performed at three different stress levels corresponding to
nominal lives of 5  103, 5  104 and 106 cycles, and at three life
fractions per stress level corresponding to 20%, 50% and 80% of
Table 2
Interaction and OM model parameters for Gl/Ep [0]4 laminate the nominal life. At each stress level/life fraction 4 tensile tests
were performed. This procedure was followed for two stress ratios,
R 0.1 1
R = 0.1 and 1. Consequently, a total of ca. 36 tensile tests were
INT 
x 0.24 0.37 performed at each stress ratio.

y 5.07 4.02
A detailed description of the residual strength models and
OM k1 0.56 0.70
k2 2.42 2.05 implementation procedures was presented by Philippidis and Pas-
sipoularidis [30]. For the case of the OM model the equivalent

30

20

Load level
Load level

10

0
1 10 19 28 37 46 55 64 73 82 91 100
Segments
Segments

15

10
Load level
Load level

-5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Segments
Segments

40 30

30

20
Load level

20
Load level

10

0 10

-10

-20 0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Segments Segments

Fig. 4. WISPER (1st row), NEW WISPER (2nd row) and MWIND (3rd row) full (1st column) and detailed (2nd column) spectra.
V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417 413

100 tic strength and residual strength can be performed in a


straightforward manner by implementing appropriate probabilis-
MW
10 tic models for the aforementioned variables, such as those devel-
W
oped by the authors in [25]. For the purposes of the present
% Cycles Content

NW
investigation however and the sample size of the experimental
1
data sets used, it was deemed appropriate to consider the deter-
ministic only character of the prediction methodology.
0.1 In all W, NW and MW spectrum fatigue tests, three stress levels
were considered to obtain a clear picture of the rmax-N behavior in
0.01 a rmax range as wide as possible. Test results along with life predic-
tions using the PM rule and the residual strength models discussed
above are presented in Fig. 6, Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. In the computational
0.001
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 procedure, the modules concerning CLD and cycle counting were
kept the same for all methods where only the damage accumula-
Range/Maxium Range
tion module was altered. LCLD and ‘‘Rainflow” were chosen for
Fig. 5. Composition of WISPER (W), NEW WISPER (NW) and MWIND (MW) time the purpose.
series in stress ranges. Both, the PM rule and the methodologies based on residual
strength seem to overestimate considerably life under both W
and NW spectra. On the contrary, predictions appear to be reason-
static strength (ESS) method was used for parameter evaluation: A able for the case of the MW time series. This difference should be
theoretical (equivalent) static strength is calculated in parametric attributed to the spectrum pattern; both W and NW are artificial
form using the degradation equation, Eq. (8), for each residual spectra, composed of a variety of constant amplitude blocks, albeit
strength datum. Then the values of the model parameters are opti- of varying mean stress, with NW being less uniform, starting with
mized to obtain a close match between the occurring ESS statistical cycles of reversed loading and ending with higher loads in the
distribution and the experimentally defined one. purely tensile region.
On the other hand, non-linear regression was used to extract
the two parameters of the INT model by fitting Eq. (6) directly to
the experimental data. Model parameters used in the present study 1.8
are shown in Table 2. W Tests
Three loading spectra, WISPER, NEW WISPER and MWIND, were 1.7 PM
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

used for the VA fatigue tests. WISPER consists of 265,423 load BR


reversals, NEW WISPER of 95,472 and MWIND of 5977, respec- INT
1.6
tively. The pattern of each spectrum, in full and detailed form, is OM
shown in Fig. 4, while a graph comparing their cycle content in
1.5
normalized stress ranges (with respect to the maximum value)
can be seen in Fig. 5. As it is observed, WISPER and NEW WISPER
confirm their artificial character with cycle ranges concentrating 1.4
up to a 98% to values between .3 and .6 of the maximum, in con-
trast to MWIND which presents a more uniform distribution, char- 1.3
acteristic of natural processes such as wind loads.
All the VA tests were performed on two MTS hydraulic test rigs 1.2
of 250 kN capacity, under load control, using hydraulic gripping. 10 100 1000
Load cells, model 661.22D-01 (SN# 0229829 and 1060311) were Passes
also of 250 kN capacity, however depending on the maximum load
for each test, different calibrations were used to enhance resolu- Fig. 6. Comparison of life predictions (LCLD and Rainflow) by various models for the
WISPER spectrum.
tion in load reading. The loading curve between each peak and
trough was of sinusoidal form and the mean loading rate was kept
constant and similar to the rates of the CA fatigue tests previously
1.7
performed. The loading rate is defined by: NW Tests
r_ ¼ 4f ra ð17Þ PM
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

1.6 BR
ra in Eq. (17) is the maximum stress amplitude in the spectrum INT
and f is the frequency applied to the CA fatigue test of equal max- OM
imum stress level. All spectrum data were reported by Philippidis 1.5
et al. [35].
1.4
4. Results and discussion

4.1. Comparison of residual strength and PM predictions 1.3

In implementing the theoretical models presented in Section 2,


1.2
mean values for all mechanical properties, e.g. fatigue strength, 10 100 1000
residual strength, were used. The numerical predictions therefore
Passes
correspond to a reliability level of ca. 50% and as such should be
compared to the experimental data. Enhancement of the method- Fig. 7. Comparison of life predictions (LCLD and Rainflow) by various models for the
ology to account for the stochastic nature of fatigue life, initial sta- NEW WISPER spectrum.
414 V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417

2.1 pected to depend to some extend on the CLD choice. In order to


MW Tests investigate this, three different formulations were implemented:
2.0 PM The LCLD, the BELL and the simple R01 assumption. All predictions
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

BR presented are based on Rainflow counting of the respective spectra


1.9 INT cycles, according to the algorithm proposed by Downing and Socie
OM [38].
1.8
In order to retain a clear picture in the graphs, and since all
1.7 residual strength models have produced similar predictions in all
cases, only the predictions of the BR model are shown. The results
1.6
are presented in Figs. 9–11.
1.5 The predictions do not indicate a common trend in all spectrum
cases. In both W and NW spectra there seems to be a strong depen-
1.4 dency on the CLD choice since it induces differences of up to almost
an order of magnitude. Nevertheless the effort to describe the con-
1.3
stant life lines as accurately as possible (e.g. LCLD) does not neces-
10 100 1000 10000
sarily pay back in accuracy of the prediction, especially in
Passes
comparison e.g. with the R01 assumption which produces in both
Fig. 8. Comparison of life predictions (LCLD and Rainflow) by various models for the
cases better results.
MWIND spectrum. On the contrary, the CLD choice, for the case of the more realis-
tic MW spectrum, does not seem to be so critical: Similar results
MW spectrum on the other hand is a more realistic loading ser- are obtained, showing differences of about one tenth of those ob-
ies derived through numerical aeroelastic simulations and consist- served in the other two spectra cases. This is quite interesting,
ing of uniformly dispersed loading cycles of a comparatively wider especially in combination with the fact that this difference in the
variety of ranges, see Fig. 4. When the loading spectrum consists of predictions seems to decrease with increasing number of spectrum
a composition of separate blocks of cycles with varying mean
stress the predictions are overoptimistic, more so when these
blocks are sorted in increasing order of stress magnitude as in
1.8
the NW spectrum, Fig. 7. When a more irregular loading series of
milder mean stress variation however is applied, the predictions
1.7
are improved considerably.
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

Similar conclusions were also drawn by Bond, Farrow and co-


workers [36] for Carbon/Epoxy fiber dominated laminates under 1.6
spectrum loading. Using same type of fatigue analysis and test re-
sults from application of various different spectra, including WIS- 1.5
PER and FALSTAFF, life predictions were found inconsistent and W tests
PM LCLD
generally unconservative. In addition, for Glass/Epoxy matrix dom- 1.4 BR LCLD
inated laminates they suggested that the current prediction meth- PM Bell
ods can be used with acceptable accuracy. BR Bell
1.3
The latter is also confirmed by comparison of theoretical and PM R01
BR R01
experimental results for a [±45]S laminate made of the glass/epoxy
1.2
UD under investigation and tested under a transposed (only ten- 1 10 100 1000
sile) NEW WISPER spectrum by the authors [37]. In fact, for this Passes
matrix dominated lay-up, theoretical life predictions were found
in fair agreement with the experimental data. Fig. 9. Comparison of various models using different CLD assumptions with
Evidently, this is attributed to the different failure mechanisms; experimental data of WISPER spectrum.
fiber breaks, disbonds, transverse cracks bridging fibers, fiber split-
ting and pull-out for the [0]4 coupon and mostly matrix cracks run-
ning parallel to the fibers and delaminations for the [±45]S laminate.
In the former case, the relative importance of fiber related damage 1.7
NW data
modes in final coupon failure is stress level dependent. Then, it BR LCLD
seems that damage is not adequately characterized by just counting 1.6 PM LCLD
Max LoadLevel (kN/mm)

hysteresis cycles by e.g. Rainflow. Possibly, the consideration of ‘cy- BR Bell


cle-mix damage event’ could contribute in improving life predic- PM Bell
BR R01
tions [4,36]. For the case of more homogeneous matrix dominated 1.5
PM R01
failure, as for the [±45]S lay-up, damage events are fairly quantified
by cycle counting as performed for metals.
1.4
It is interesting further to note that load sequence effects, ac-
counted for by residual strength based models but not by PM rule,
do not seem to have a major impact on prediction accuracy since 1.3
observed differences are less than 20% on the average and this
tends to decrease for high cycle regimes.
1.2
1 10 100 1000
4.2. Investigation of different CLD methods
Passes

All of the results presented in the previous section were based Fig. 10. Comparison of various models using different CLD assumptions with
on the LCLD discussed above. Nevertheless, the predictions are ex- experimental data of NW spectrum.
V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417 415

2.1 curve. Predictions with both the above mentioned R values are
MW data shown in Fig. 12 to be either optimistic or excessively conservative,
2.0
PM LCLD respectively.
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

1.9 BR LCLD
PM Bell 4.3. Investigation of different counting methods
1.8
BR Bell
1.7 PM R01 Another crucial factor when dealing with predictions under
BR R01 spectrum loading is the definition of what is considered to be a cy-
1.6
cle in the spectrum. Despite the variety of cycle counting alterna-
1.5 tives, the investigation herein is confined to two different
methods: The first one is the simple range-mean (RM) method
1.4
[18], which considers each peak and trough pair to be a half cycle
1.3 of a specific stress amplitude and mean value. The second one is
the Rainflow (RF) algorithm proposed by Downing [38], which
1.2
10 100 1000 10000 has the advantage of partly retaining the sequence of loading
Passes events, since each cycle is recorded immediately after its comple-
tion. Results produced using these counting methods are shown
Fig. 11. Comparison of various models using different CLD assumptions with
in Figs. 13–15 for the three investigated spectra. In order to isolate
experimental data of MW spectrum.
the effect of the counting algorithm, a single CLD assumption, LCLD
is implemented, even though a similar behavior is observed when
passes, since it implies that under operational loading conditions, other CLD assumptions (like R01 or BELL) are used. The predictions
usually causing low cyclic stresses, the CLD choice as well as the presented below refer to different damage accumulation assump-
damage rule are not the most critical parameters. tions such as linear (BR) and non-linear (INT) residual strength
Apart from this fact, use of BELL and R01 consistently produces models as well as PM rule.
better results than LCLD. The first two differ from the latter in the
area of stress ratios close to +1, in which the LCLD is determined
under the doubtful assumption that for R-ratio values close to +1 1.8
all CLD lines converge to the UTS and UCS respectively. This
assumption greatly affects the form of the CLD in the Tension–Ten-
1.7
sion (0 < R < 1) and Compression–Compression (R > 1) sectors of
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

the ðrm  ra Þ space and has a significant impact on life estimates


1.6
of the cycles of the specific spectra. Consequently, this difference
in the CLD form in this particular region, seen clearly in Fig. 2,
may be a key factor explaining the large differences observed in 1.5 W Tests
the results. BR RF
Nevertheless, the choice of the constant S–N curve expression in 1.4 INT RF
the R01 formulation is of paramount importance in the consistency PM RF
of the theoretical predictions. This is proved in Fig. 12 where pre- BR RM
1.3
dictions by the BR model for other S–N curve expressions besides INT RM
the R01 are compared with experimental data from WISPER spec- PM RM
1.2
trum. Theoretical predictions by the PM method with R01 CLD for- 1 10 100 1000
mulation are also included for comparison. Passes
After cycle counting the WISPER spectrum, an average R value is
calculated equal to 0.4 approximately. On the other hand, since Fig. 13. Comparison of various predictions using different cycle counting algo-
rithms with experimental data of WISPER spectrum.
there are both tensile and compressive cycles in the load series
one might think that R = 1 could also be a representative S–N

1.7
1.9
W tests
1.8 BR R04
1.6
Max Load Level (kN/mm)
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

BR R-1
1.7 PM R01
BR R01
1.5
1.6
NW Tests
1.5 1.4 BR RF
PM RF
1.4 BR RM
1.3 INT RF
1.3
PM RM
INT RM
1.2 1.2
0.1 1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000
Passes Passes

Fig. 12. Comparison of model predictions implementing alternative forms of the Fig. 14. Comparison of predictions using different cycle counting algorithms with
R01 formulation with experimental data of WISPER spectrum. experimental data of NEW WISPER spectrum.
416 V.A. Passipoularidis, T.P. Philippidis / International Journal of Fatigue 31 (2009) 408–417

2.1 should be also considered besides the classical hysteresis cycle


counting.
2.0
Considering the fact that mainly highly irregular load series are
Max Load Level (kN/mm)

1.9 of special interest during design of demanding composite struc-


tures, such as Wind Turbine Rotor Blades, this work assesses the
1.8
MW Tests three modules of life prediction under spectrum fatigue in the fol-
1.7 PM RF lowing order.
1.6 BR RF
INT RF (1) Counting: The use of Rainflow or other method that counts
1.5 PM RM cycles as closed hysteresis loops is suggested.
1.4 BR RM (2) CLD assumption: The region close to the R = 1 line seems to
INT RM have a significant effect on the results, indicating that CLD
1.3 lines should not converge to the UTS or UCS for R = +1,
10 100 1000 10000
Passes
respectively, as already indicated e.g. by the investigation
of Sutherland et al. [39]. A formulation like the R01 or BELL
Fig. 15. Comparison of predictions using different cycle counting algorithms with approximates better such a behavior.
experimental data of MWIND spectrum. (3) Damage rule: A net improvement can be achieved by adopt-
ing the linear residual strength model (BR) as damage met-
ric, with the additional advantage that a clear physical
The predictions indicate that the more artificial the spectrum meaning is attributed to the damage accumulation rule,
(e.g. NEW WISPER) the less important is the counting method used, while no additional experimental effort for residual strength
since a large part of the cycles are packed into CA blocks and con- characterization is required.
sequently any counting routine would produce similar results.
For the realistic MW spectrum the results are quite different
since the loading sequence does neither include complete cycles Acknowledgements
nor blocks of cycles and consequently the RM method tends to
break large segments into smaller ones due to continuous small Research funded in part by the European Commission in the
fluctuations of the load. This becomes more evident if one looks framework of the specific research and technology development
into a random detail of each spectrum, as in the right column of programme Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development
Fig. 4. The large cycles, for the MW case, are broken into smaller (OPTIMAT BLADES, Contract # ENK6-CT-2001-00552) and in part
segments and their impact is lessened when counted by the simple by the Greek General Secretariat for Research & Technology, Min-
range-mean method. As a result the RM predictions are far more istry of Development. Project number: FK-6660.
optimistic than the ones using RF counting (see Fig. 15). The lim-
ited irregularity observed in WISPER and even more in NEW WIS- References
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