Effect of compression loading on the fatigue crack growth in fiber reinforced aluminium laminates and prediction model

Using the incremental plastic damage theory and the phenomenological model for predicting fatigue crack growth in fiber reinforced metal laminates, a predicting model of fatigue crack growth in fiber reinforced aluminium alloy laminates under tension-compressive loading was deduced. The experiments of the fatigue crack growth in the glass fiber reinforced aluminium alloy laminates at the R=-1 and R=-2 were performed in order to verify the predicting model. The results show that the two cases of the effect of compression loading are pointed out that when the effective stress ratio R _C>0, it is characterized by counteracting the residual stress in the aluminium alloy layer, and when R _C<0, it is characterized by causing the plastic damage in the aluminium alloy layer and the promoting effect on the fatigue crack growth in fiber reinforced aluminium alloy laminates. The effect of compression loading should not be neglected. The model has been obtained good agreements with the experimental data.