International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 12391247

International Journalof Fatigue

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijfatigue

Eect of braid angle on fatigue performance of biaxial braided composites

Jitendra S. Tate a, Ajit D. Kelkar
b

b,*

, John D. Whitcomb

c,1

a Department of Engineering and Technology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina A&T State University, 626 McNair Hall, 1601 E Market Street, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA c Department of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University, 3141 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843, USA

Available online 20 March 2006

Abstract Biaxial braided fabric is gaining popularity in primary structural application in small business jets because of its natural ability to conform to complex shapes. This research addresses the eect of braid angle on in-plane mechanical properties and fatigue performance. The carbon/epoxy braided composites were fabricated using low cost vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) with dierent braid angles (25, 30 and 45). The static tests were performed to evaluate tensile strength, modulus, and Poissons ratio. It is observed that as braid angle increases the tensile strength, modulus, and Poissons ratio decreases signicantly. The load controlled tension-tension fatigue tests (R = 0.1) were conducted at 10 Hz frequency with constant amplitude. The endurance limit was dened as the fatigue load that results in a fatigue life of one million cycles. The endurance limit for 25 and 30 braided composites was 40% of UTS whereas for 45 braided composites it was 50% of UTS. However, braid angle did not signicantly aect the failure mechanism under fatigue loading. It was very crucial to control the braid angle within a test specimen, as tensile strength is signicantly aected by braid angle variation. The special form of biaxial braided fabric termed slit sleeves assures the constant braid angle while handling and processing. It was observed that, a Sigmoidal function could be used eectively to represent the fatigue life behavior. Braided composites exhibited substantially dierent fatigue failure behavior as compared to conventional angle-ply laminated composites. The major dierence being that the failure is sudden. There were hardly any noticeable matrix cracks or delaminations in the rst 90% of the fatigue life at all fatigue load levels. There is rapid damage accumulation in the last 10% of the fatigue life. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biaxial braid; Slit sleeve; VARTM; Fatigue; S/Su-N diagram; Sigmoidal function

1. Introduction The motivation for the present research was to meet the challenges of small business jet applications for which the FAA (Part 23 Single Pilot Certication) requires a takeo weight of 5670 kgf or less. Typically, small business jets have a seven-passenger capacity, maximum cruise speed of 853 kmph (465 knots) and a maximum range of 3000 km. The major objectives in the small business jet industry are to reduce costs while keeping weight below 5670 kgf.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 336 334 7620; fax: +1 336 334 7417. E-mail addresses: kelkar@ncat.edu (A.D. Kelkar), whit@aero.tamu. edu (J.D. Whitcomb). 1 Tel.: +1 979 845 4006; fax: +1 979 845 6051. 0142-1123/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2006.02.009
*

Reduced weight is possible only if the primary and secondary structures are made of lightweight composite materials. Thus, competitive costs depend on the selection of fabric, resin, and manufacturing methods. The main design feature of small business jets today is a composite fuselage built with automated ber placement techniques [1]. Biaxial braided fabric with its natural conformability can t over many complex shapes. Thus, there is reduced need for cutting, stitching, and ber placement as compared to woven fabric. This ability reduces part count and makes biaxial braided fabric useful for primary structures like the fuselage. Recent studies indicate that carbon braids are extremely ecient for single-part airfoil sections like wing aps [2]. Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is a low-cost manufacturing process with the

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Nomenclature d m s CV N R S Su Y-axis intercept of S/Su-N diagram when represented by a straight line on semi-log scale slope of S/Su-N diagram when represented by a straight line on semi-log scale sample standard deviation sample coecient of variation, in percent number of cycles at failure in fatigue loading stress ratio in constant amplitude fatigue tests applied stress in fatigue loading ultimate tensile strength Tg Vf Vm eu h mm mxy qf qm qc glass transition temperature ber volume fraction matrix (resin) volume fraction strain at Su braid angle, or lamina orientation angle Poissons ratio for matrix (resin) material in plane Poissons ratios for braided composites density of ber material density of matrix (resin) material density of composite laminate

capability of manufacturing complex parts [35]. Braided composite manufactured using the VARTM process is one of the major candidates for small business jet applications. During the past decade the use of braided fabric has increased extensively. They are now being considered for the both secondary and primary structures of the small business jets. Some of the secondary structure applications include stieners, wing spars, oor beams, fuselage frames, ducting, and housings. There is a growing interest in manufacturing composite preforms by this technique for primary structures like wing aps, horizontal stabilizers, and fuselage especially for small business jet applications [2]. When a biaxial braid tube takes the shape of a complex part, the braid angle changes from location to location. The change in the braid angle within the part complicates the design process because all fundamental mechanical properties are dependent on braid angle. It is observed in the present research that, when the braid angle increased from 25 to 45, the percentage drop in the UTS, tensile modulus, and Poissons ratio was 75%, 70%, and 96%, respectively. Thus there is strong possibility that the fatigue life and failure mechanism will be highly dependent on braid angle. And if this is true then designing complex components with braided composites against uctuating loadings is real challenge. Designers must have clear

understanding of the eects of braid angle on mechanical properties such as strength, modulus, fatigue life, and fatigue failure mechanisms. Braids are available in dierent forms. Fig. 1 shows (a) triaxial braids [6], (b) biaxial braids [7], (c) braid tube, and (d) slit sleeves. Biaxial braids are classied as diamond braid (1/1), regular braid (2/2), and Hercules braid (3/3) depending on the interlacement as shown in Fig. 2 [8]. Biaxial braids are typically supplied in the form of tubes (sleeves) and slit sleeves. A&P Technology Inc. (braid manufacturer and suppliers) specify braid tubes with braid angle of 45. Fiber orientation is the angle measured from the axis of the braid to the axis of the bias yarns. This angle is also called the braid angle or the ber angle or the bias angle

Fig. 2. Types of braiding pattern [8]. (a) Diamond braid (1/1); (b) regular braid (2/2); (c) Hercules braid (3/3).

Fig. 1. (a) Biaxial braid [6]; (b) triaxial braid [7]; (c) braid tube; (d) slit sleeve.

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and is denoted by h in Fig. 1(a). Fiber orientation typically ranges from 15 to 75. When a biaxial braid tube is used for a component of varying cross-sections, the braid angle, thickness, and areal weight vary from point to point. The braided composites have following advantages: 1. Braided structures are impact resistant. Since all the bers in the structure are involved in the load distribution, the braid absorbs a large amount of energy as it fails [9]. 2. Since braids are woven on the bias, they provide very ecient reinforcement for parts that are subjected to torsional loads such as drive shafts [9]. 3. Braided composites greatly improve interlaminar shear properties. There is virtually no delamination observed when braided composites are subjected to fatigue loadings [10]. 4. Braided composites have better fatigue life. They have outperformed unidirectional laminates for jet engine stator vanes in fatigue strength [9]. 5. It has been proven that braiding can be used to improve performance and reduce the manufacturing cost of composite structures [11]. This paper discusses the literature review pertaining to fatigue of laminated and woven composites, the material system used to fabricate the braided composites, the eect of braid angle on fundamental mechanical properties, and tensiontension fatigue behavior. 2. Fatigue of braided composites Although braided fabric resembles woven fabric, one must be careful when applying the damage mechanism concepts of woven composites to braided composites. This is because the woven fabrics have orthogonal weaving, that is, warp and ll tows run 0 and 90, but braided fabrics tows run at h/h angles. In the case of braided composites, very little work is performed on fatigue damage, the relationship between internal damage and macroscopic properties such as stiness, interlaminar stresses, and the delamination of the braided composites. Some related work is discussed below. Two discontinuous blade-stiened specimens of threedimensional braided composites (0/17) and threedimensional orthogonal woven composites (0/90/90) were evaluated under tensiontension fatigue (S/Su = 0.6, 510 Hz, and R = 0.1). It was found that both specimens survived 1 million cycles, but the woven panel lost its stiener. The residual strength of braided and woven composite specimens was 88.6% and 90.9% of their static strength [12]. Carlos [13] studied the fatigue behavior of three-dimensional tri-axially (0/30) braided carbon/epoxy composites in tensiontension fatigue at 10 Hz with an R ratio of 0.1. He reported 5 variations in braid angle when the specimens were manufactured using braid tubes and com-

pression molding. The specimens survived 1 million cycles at the applied stress level of 50% of the ultimate tensile strength. There was a large scatter in fatigue data, which may have resulted from the variation in braid angle. Portanova and Deaton [14] evaluated fatigue (5 Hz and R = 0.1) resistance of multiaxial braided three-dimensional graphite/epoxy composites in both unnotched and postimpacted conditions. Damage initiation and growth were documented using radiography and ultrasonic throughtransmission (C-scans). Stiness and strength degradation were measured as a function of applied cycles. The eect of elevated (107 C) and lower (40 C) temperatures on the fatigue behavior of RTM manufactured triaxially braided (30/0/30) glass/vinyl ester was determined. Results showed a signicant decrease in tensile and fatigue strength at 107 C and a modest increase at 40 C [15]. Burr and Morris [16] conducted tension-tension fatigue tests on two-dimensional tri-axial braided composites. The rst types of damage that occurred were splits in the braider bundles and cracks in the resin rich areas. Once a sucient density of this type of damage occurred, the axial bundles began to disbond from the surrounding constituents and continued to do so until ultimate failure. The literature review clearly indicates that there is a need to understand the behavior of biaxial braided composite under tensiontension fatigue loading. 3. Material system Biaxial braids are typically manufactured in the form of tubes with various diameters. The 25 braided composites were manufactured using regular (2/2) biaxial carbon (AS4) braid tubes. Braid tubes were attened to a width of 44.5 mm. A braid tube with a width of 44.5 mm provided a braid angle of approximately 25. Two tubes were stacked above each other, creating four layers. Precaution was taken so that the braid angle (25) was undisturbed and the width of 44.5 mm was maintained. The specimens were cut along the edges to eliminate the eect of ber continuity. In spite of the precautions, the specimens manufactured using braid tubes showed large variation in braid angle. As mechanical properties of braided composites are sensitive to braid angle, slit sleeves were used in the later part of the research. The 30 and 45 braided composites were manufactured using regular (2/2) biaxial carbon (AS4) braid slit sleeves. Slit sleeves resemble woven fabrics, but their tows are at [h/h] angles. Braid tubes are manufactured at required braid angles and are then slit to create slit sleeves. The edges are fused with a small amount of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) adhesive [17]. As the slit sleeves are fused at the edges, they maintain a constant braid angle during processing. Four slit sleeves were also stacked above each other to obtain four layers. Both braid tubes and slit sleeves were manufactured by A&P Technology Inc. As specimens manufactured using braid tubes were cut along the edges, they were similar in architecture to specimens manufactured using slit sleeves.

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Aircraft applications require resins with high glass transition temperature (Tg), high damage tolerance, high impact resistance, and high fatigue life. From a VARTM processing point of view, the viscosity of the resin should be 1001000 cp [18] Low viscosity resin is not able to impregnate fabric thoroughly and leaves dry fabrics and voids. Low viscosity resins also have high concentrations of reactive diluents, which tend to vaporize under vacuum and create voids. On the other hand, high viscosity resin is not able to ow through the fabric and gels prematurely. The EPON 9504 resin system manufactured by Resolution Performance Products Inc. was selected to meet the requirements of VARTM processing (viscosity 350 cp at 25 C and gel time 60 min) and have comparatively high Tg (110135 C). The braided composite panels were fabricated using VARTM. The details of VARTM manufacturing are provided in reference [19]. The ber volume fraction of the VARTM manufactured was measured using the density method [20] and was observed to be between 0.50 and 0.53. The specimens were observed under optical microscope for void content. The void content was less than 1%. 4. Results and discussion 4.1. Static tension tests The properties of EPON 9504 were evaluated from ve static tensile tests on neat resin coupons according to ASTM D638 [21]. The average tensile strength, axial modulus, and Poissons ratio were 64.94 MPa, 0.43 GPa, and 0.38, respectively. Static tensile tests (ve tests each for 25, 30, and 45 braided composites) were performed according to ASTM D3039 [22] on braided composites. Table 1 presents tensile properties of braided composites. The variation in the ber volume fraction was between the specimens and not within a specimen. The values in the parenthesis indicate standard deviation. The experimental error using the student t-distribution at condence
Table 1 Tensile properties of braided composites Property Braid angle (Variation within a specimen) Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) Standard deviation (MPa) Experimental error (MPa) CV (%) eut (%) E (GPa) mxy Fiber volume fraction (Variation between the specimens) Carbon/epoxy 25 (2) Braid tubes 660.03 43.53 54.04 6.60 1.77 (0.263) 54.26 (5.46) 1.44 (0.03) 0.51 0.05 Carbon/epoxy 30 (1) Slit sleeves 441.84 18.87 23.42 4.27 2.46 (0.171) 38.05 (2.54) 1.34 (0.05) 0.53 0.05 Carbon/epoxy 45 (1) Slit sleeves

700 600

Braid Angle 25

Stress, MPa

500

Braid Angle 30
400 300 200 100 0 0.000

Braid Angle 45

0.005

0.010

0.015

0.020

0.025

% Strain

Fig. 3. Stressstrain composites.

behavior

of

carbon/epoxy

biaxial

braided

level of 95% and coecient of variation is calculated for the UTS. Typical stressstrain behavior is displayed in Fig. 3. As the braid angle increases the degree of nonlinearity of stressstrain curves increases. It is observed that, tensile properties are sensitive to braid angle. When the braid angle increased from 25 to 45, the percentage drop in the UTS, tensile modulus, and Poissons ratio was 75%, 70%, and 96%, respectively. 4.2. Comparison of tensile properties of angle-ply laminates and braided composites Classical laminate theory (CLT) is well developed and accepted for laminated composites. The biaxial braided composites resemble angle-ply laminates [h]s. Therefore, it is useful to compare the trend in Ex and mxy of biaxial braided composites with that of angle-ply laminates. Fig. 4 shows Youngs modulus and Fig. 5 shows the Poissons ratio of angle-ply laminated composites and braided composites

60 55 50 45

Braided Composites (Experimental Values) Angle Ply Laminates (CLT Values)

Modulus, GPa

178.14 19.79 24.57 11.11 2.06 (0.07) 15.93 (2.17) 0.69 (0.01) 0.52 0.03

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Braid Angle, degrees

Fig. 4. Modulus of as a function of ber orientation or, braid angle.

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1.6 1.5 1.4 1.3

Braided Composites (Experimental Values) Angle Ply Laminates (CLT Values)

Poiss on's Ratio

1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

composites are the average for ve test specimens. In the case of angle-ply laminates, the lamina properties are computed using simplied micromechanics equations [23]. These lamina properties are then used to calculate angle-ply laminate properties using classical laminate theory (CLT). The trend in decrease in modulus and decrease in Poissons ratio with ber angle or, braid angle is very similar in angle-ply laminates and braided composites. 4.3. Tensiontension fatigue tests Tensiontension fatigue tests were performed according to ASTM D3479 [24]. The fatigue test parameters selected were sinusoidal waveform, 10 Hz frequency, and 0.1 stress ratio (R). The control mode for all the tests was load control with constant amplitude. The fatigue load was applied as a percentage of ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Fatigue tests were conducted at 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 45%, and 40% of UTS. The endurance limit was dened as the fatigue load that results in a fatigue life of 1 million cycles. Three specimens were tested at each stress level.

Braid Angle, degrees

Fig. 5. Poissons ratio as a function of ber orientation or, braid angle.

as a function of ber orientation in the case of angle-ply laminated composites and as a function of braid angle in the case of braided composites. The experimental values for braided

Fig. 6. Failure patterns of static tensile and fatigue loaded carbon/epoxy specimens (braid angle 25 2).

Fig. 7. Failure patterns of static tensile and fatigue loaded carbon/epoxy specimens (braid angle 30 1).

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J.S. Tate et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 12391247 Table 2 Comparison of UD laminates and braided composites S/Su-N curve Material T300 carbon/ductile epoxy UD [25] T300 carbon/brittle epoxy UD [25] BASF G30-500 carbon/epoxy three-dimensional triaxial braid [13] AS4/epoxy biaxial braid (25) AS4/epoxy biaxial braid (30) AS4/epoxy biaxial braid (45) R 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 m 0.0542 0.0873 0.0770 0.1018 0.1117 0.08531 d 1.0420 1.2103 1.000 0.9861 0.9935 1.0028

S/Su

For 25 and 30 carbon/epoxy braided composites the endurance limit was 40% of the UTS whereas it was 50% of the UTS for 45 braided composites. The fatigue strength values for 25, 30, and 45 angles were 264, 176.5, and 88.94 MPa, respectively. Failure occurred very quickly in the last 10% of the fatigue life. Figs. 6 and 7 show the failure patterns of braided composites in static and fatigue loadings for the carbon/epoxy resin system for braid angles 25 and 30. The failure in tensile loading was ber dominated and as the applied fatigue load increased the fatigue failure resembled the tensile failure. When woven and angle-ply laminates are subjected to fatigue loadings they exhibit noticeable fatigue failure mechanisms such as matrix cracking and delamination of plies. Irrespective of the braid angle, braided composites did not exhibit any noticeable matrix cracks either at the surface or at the edges or any delaminations until 90% of the fatigue life. The failure was sudden and catastrophic. 5. Modeling of the S/Su-N diagram Fatigue life is represented by using several analytical models. The most popular model is the simple linear model represented by a straight line on a semi-log plot. The equation of the line is S S u m log N d. 1 The lower value of the slope (m) and the higher value of the Y-axis intercept (d), indicates the higher value of the fatigue strength. Fig. 8 shows the linear t of a S/Su-N diagram for braided composites. Table 2 displays a comparison of the parameters (m) and (d) for unidirectional (UD) laminated and braided composites. Using parameters m and d the S/Su diagram is represented as linear t for UD laminates and braided composites in Fig. 9. Table 2 shows that UD laminates have superior endurance limits (at 1 million cycles) compared to those of the braided composites. The linear model was not a good rep-

1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0 2 4 6 8 Log10N 10 12
T300 carbon/brittle epoxy- UD laminates T300 carbon/ductile epoxy- UD laminates Carbon/epoxy 3D triaxial braided composite Carbon/epoxy biaxial braided 0 composites (Braid Angle 45 ) Carbon/epoxy biaxial braided composites (Braid Angle 250 ) Carbon/epoxy biaxial braided composites (Braid Angle 300)

Fig. 9. Linear representation of S/Su-N diagram for UD laminates and braided composites.

resentation of the fatigue of the braided composites. It either under predicted or over predicted the endurance limit. The trend of fatigue data can be best represented by a Sigmoidal (Boltzmann) t, as shown in Fig. 10. The R-square values and the predicted fatigue strength at 1 million cycles are tabulated in Table 3.

1.3
1.3 1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9 S/Su 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0 1 2 3 4 Log10 N 5 6 Runout Braid 45 Epoxy 0 Braid 30 Epoxy 0 Braid 25 Epoxy
0

1.2 1.1 1.0 0.9

Braid Angle 45 0 Braid Angle 30 0 Braid Angle 25 I II III

S/Su

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4

Braid Angle 45

0 0

Braid Angle 25 0 Braid Angle 30 Runout

Critical Zone

0.3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Log 10(N)
Fig. 10. Sigmoidal (Boltzmann) t for carbon/epoxy material system (braid angles 25 2, 30 1, and 45 1).

Fig. 8. Linear representation of S/Su-N diagram for carbon/vinyl ester and carbon/epoxy material system.

J.S. Tate et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 12391247 Table 3 Comparison of linear model and Sigmoidal model results with experimental results Material system biaxial braid (braid angle) R2 value Lin. AS4/epoxy biaxial (25) AS4/epoxy biaxial (30) AS4/epoxy biaxial (45) Exp. Experimental, Lin. linear, Sig. Sigmoidal. 0.9007 0.8913 0.8893 Sig. 0.9659 0.9874 0.9057 Applied stress for N P 106 cycles (% of UTS) Exp. (%) 40 40 50 Lin. (%) 37 32 49.1

1245

Sig. (%) 42 40 49.7

Sigmoidal curves (S-shaped) are frequently used in biology to describe growth patterns. The increase in fatigue life with reduction in the applied fatigue load can be described using this curve for braided composites. The equation for the Sigmoidal (Boltzmann) curve is given by: y A1 A2 A2 ; 1 exxo =dx 2

where y SSu and x = log10(N). A1, A2, xo, and dx are the parameters in the equation. The value of y varies from A1 at the top to A2 at the bottom. The dx describes the steepness of the curve and larger values denote more shallow curves. The xo indicates the value of x when y is halfway between A1 and A2. The parameters A1, A2, xo, and dx were evaluated using the non-linear curve tting option in the commercial software Microcal Origin version 6.1. The values of these four parameters for all material systems are listed in Table 4. The higher values of A2 and dx indicate better fatigue life. The sensitivity analysis indicated that, the Sigmoidal function is not sensitive to parameter A1. However, the Sigmoidal function is extremely sensitive to parameter dx and need to express up to three decimal places. The S/Su-N diagram exhibited three major stages when represented in this manner: Stage I: In the rst stage, fatigue life was almost constant and less than 100 cycles until the applied fatigue stress was above 80% of the UTS. This stage was termed low cycle (high stress) fatigue.
Table 4 Parameters in Sigmoidal (Boltzmann) curve for braided composites for dierent material systems and braid angles Material system AS4/epoxy biaxial braid (25) AS4/epoxy biaxial braid (30) AS4/epoxy biaxial braid (45) A1 1.00 1.00 1.00 A2 0.42 0.40 0.49 xo 2.92 2.89 3.18 dx 0.508 0.473 0.728

Stage II: The mid stage for 25 and 30 braided composites was between 80% and 50% of UTS and between 80% and 60% of UTS for 45 braided composites. The fatigue life in the mid stage ranged from 100 to 10,000 cycles. The middle zone is very important in design of composite structures. This stage can be termed mid cycle fatigue. A linear model showed a large error in this region. For example, for 25 carbon/epoxy braided composites at an applied load of 50% of the UTS, a linear model predicted a fatigue life of 59,573 cycles whereas a Sigmoidal model predicted 6952 cycles. Experimentally, the average fatigue cycles at this load varied from 3470 to 4807 cycles. Other examples are shown in Table 5. Stage III: The third stage for 25 and 30 braided composites was between 50% and 40% of UTS and between 60% and 50% of UTS for 45 braided composites. Failure cycles jumped to 1 million in the last stage when applied stress was decreased from 50% to 40% of UTS in the case of 25 and 30 braided composites and from 60% to 50% of UTS in the case of 45 braided composites. This indicated that performance of braided composites is critical near the endurance limit. The 10% increase in applied stress can decrease fatigue life dramatically from 1 million cycles to about 10,000 cycles. This stage was termed high cycle (low stress) fatigue. The fatigue behavior of braided composites is sensitive to applied fatigue load in the Stage III and termed as critical zone. If the component is subjected to overload for a small period of time in this zone, catastrophic failure could occur. A higher factor of safety has to be used. 6. Conclusions The following are the conclusions from the tensile and fatigue test data:

Table 5 Fatigue life predicted by linear and Sigmoidal model at dierent fatigue loads for carbon/epoxy braided composites % of UTS 25 Exp. 80 70 60 50 45 274516 693986 12255575 34704807 241351 M Lin. 68 647 6205 59573 184590 Sig. 391 894 2092 6952 23940 30 Exp. 392475 578910 18802240 36886020 533312836 Lin. 54 425 3333 26187 73403 Sig. 377 798 1695 4592 10840 45 Exp. 3691533 23393507 82369031 1M Lin. 238 3543 56675 783067 Sig. 18 2787 12883 625437

Exp. Experimental, Lin. linear, Sig. Sigmoidal.

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J.S. Tate et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 12391247 [9] A&P Technology Inc. Available from: http://www.braider.com. [10] Kelkar AD, Tate JS. Fatigue behavior of VARTM manufactured biaxial braided composites. In: Proceedings of IMECE 03, 2003 international mechanical engineering congress and exposition, Washington, DC, USA. [11] Munjal AK, Maloney PF. Braiding for improving performance and reducing manufacturing costs of composite structures for aerospace applications, National SAMPE Technical Conference, Boston, MA, USA, vol. 22; 1990. pp. 123142. [12] Shivkumar KN, Sundareshan MJ, Avva VS. Structural integrity of discontinuous stiened integrally braided and woven composite panels. FAA Unocial Report No. DOT/FAA/AR-99/24; 1999. [13] Carlos KG. Fatigue behavior of three-dimensional triaxially braided composites. Thesis (MS), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; 1994. [14] Portanova MA, Deaton JW. Impact and fatigue resistance of a [30/ 0] three-dimensional braided carbon epoxy composite. ASTM Special Technical Publication, 1230; 1995. [15] Houston DQ, Chernenko. RA environmental eects on the fatigue behavior of a braided E glass composite resin system advanced composites: design. Materials and Processing Technologies, Chicago, IL, USA, 25 November, 1992, ASM International, USA; 1992. pp. 34353. [16] Burr ST, Morris DH. Two-dimensionally braided composites subjected to static and fatigue loading. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Mechanics of Textile Composites Conference; 1995. pp. 3353 [SEE N96-25071 09-24]. [17] Email communication with Mike Braley, Engineer, A&P Technology, supplier of braid tubes and slit sleeves. [18] Smith, Steven. Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding of sandwich structures: material processing, evaluation, fracture testing and analysis. Ph.D. Thesis North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University; 2001. [19] Tate JS, Kelkar AD. Feasibility study of VARTM manufacturing of carbon biaxial braided composites using EPON 9504 epoxy resin system. In: Proceedings of the JISSE-8, eighth international SAMPE symposium and exhibition, Tokyo, 1821 November; 2003. [20] Daniel IM, Ishai O. Engineering mechanics of composite materials. Oxford University Press; 1994. [21] ASTM D638. Standard test method for tensile properties of plastics. ASTM standards and literature references for composite materials, Philadelphia, PA. [22] ASTM D3039. Standard test method for tensile properties of ber resin composites. ASTM standards and literature references for composite materials, Philadelphia, PA. [23] Chamis CC. Simplied composite micromechanics equations for strength, fracture toughness, impact resistance and environmental eects. Report NASA TM-83696; 1984. [24] ASTM D3479. Standard test method for tension-tension fatigue of polymer matrix composite materials. ASTM standards and literature references for composite materials, Philadelphia, PA. [25] Amateau MF. Professor of engineering science and mechanics. The Pennsylvania State University, Course material for Engineering Composite Materials EMCH471. Available from: http://www4.esm. psu.edu/academics/courses/emch471/Notes/Chapter18.PDF. Dr. Jitendra S. Tate is an Assistant Professor in Manufacturing Engineering at Texas State University-San Marcos. He teaches courses in Materials Engineering, Plastics and Composites Manufacturing, Engineering Design Graphics, and Computer Aided Engineering. His research interests include low cost manufacturing of composites, mechanical characterization of composites under static and dynamic loading, fatigue life prediction modeling, nite element analysis, CADD, and statistical analysis. He is a member of several professional societies including ASME, SAMPE, SME, AIAA, and ASEE.

1. Tensile properties are sensitive to braid angle. When the braid angle increased from 25 to 45, the percentage drop in the UTS, modulus, and Poissons ratio was 75%, 70%, and 96%, respectively. 2. For 25 and 30 carbon/epoxy braided composites the endurance limit was 40% of the UTS whereas it was 50% of the UTS for 45 braided composites. 3. The Sigmoidal (Boltzmann) function appears to be an excellent t for S/Su-N data of braided composites. 4. Braided composites irrespective of the braid angle, did not exhibit any noticeable matrix cracks either at the surface or at the edges and/or delamination of plies until 90% of the fatigue life, when tested at 10 Hz frequency. Thus, braid angle does not have signicant eect on failure mechanism under fatigue loading. The failure of braided composites was sudden and catastrophic unlike woven composites and angle-ply laminates. Woven composites and angle-ply laminates exhibit matrix cracking and delamination of plies before failure. 5. It was observed that, fatigue life near the endurance limit is very sensitive. When fatigue load was applied just 10% more than endurance limit, fatigue life reduces as much as by 90%. Acknowledgment The research reported herein was performed under grant DTFA03-01-C00033 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). References
[1] FLUGREVUE, November 2003 issue. Available from: http:// www.ug-revue.rotor.com/. [2] Swain D, Abbott R. Advanced manufacturing techniques utilizing carbon ber braid and RTM. In: International SAMPE symposium and exhibition (Proceedings), Long Beach, CA, USA, vol. 45 (1); 2000. p. 27789. [3] Hubert P, Grimsley BW, Cano RJ, Pipes RB. Dimensional stability of complex shapes manufactured by the VARTM process. NASA Technical Report; 2002. Available from: http://techreports. larc.nasa.gov/ltrs/PDF/2002/mtg/NASA-2002-60atc-ph.pdf. [4] Dexter HB. Development of textile reinforced composites for aircraft structures. In: Proceedings of the fourth international symposium for textile composites, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, Japan, October 1214; 1998. Available from: http://techreports.larc.nasa. gov/ltrs/PDF/1998/mtg/NASA-98-4istc-hbd.pdf. [5] Tatum S. Lockheed Martin demonstrates low-cost method for manufacturing large, complex composite structures in Advanced Fleet Ballistic Missile Project. Press Release Sunnyvale, CA, March 14; 2001. Available from: http://lmms.external.lmco.com/newsbureau/pressreleases/2001/01.22.html. [6] Byun JH. The analytical characterization of two-dimensional braided textile composites. Compos Sci Technol 2000;60:70516. [7] Tate JS, Kelkar AD. Performance evaluation of notched biaxial braided composites. In: Proceedings of IMECE 04, 2004 international mechanical engineering congress and exposition, Anaheim, CA, November 1319; 2004. [8] Kumar S, Wang Y. Fibers, fabrics, and llers. In: Composites engineering handbook. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.; 1997. p. 837 [chapter 2].

J.S. Tate et al. / International Journal of Fatigue 28 (2006) 12391247 Dr. Ajit D. Kelkar is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University. His research interests include manufacturing of composite materials, nite element modeling, fracture mechanics, high temperature materials, ceramics and composites. Specically, his work has included the low cost manufacturing of composite materials, damage characterization of thin and thick composite laminates subjected to low velocity impact loadings, three-dimensional nite element micro mechanics modeling of composites, modeling of textile composites, geometrically non-linear plate and membrane problems, modeling of ceramic composites, fracture toughness studies of high strength materials, nite

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element modeling of oset car crash simulations. He is the member of several professional societies including ASME, AIAA, ASEE, SAE, and SAMPE. Dr. John Whitcomb began his career at NASA Langley Research Center in 1974, where he stayed until moving to Texas A&M University in 1989. While employed at NASA, he completed his Masters and Ph.D. degrees at Stanford University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, respectively. His research has focused on developing computational strategies for predicting the behavior of composite materials.