Monitoring the damage evolution of flexural fatigue in unidirectional carbon/carbon composites by electrical resistance change method

This paper reported simultaneous monitoring damage evolution of flexural fatigue in unidirectional carbon-fiber-reinforced carbon composites (C/C composites) by electrical resistance change (ERC) methods. The degree of irregularity in electrical resistance changes increased with stress levels increasing. The shapes of electrical resistance change rate-fatigue cycle curves can reflect stress levels and damage types of tested samples: sawtooth shapes reflected delamination at a higher stress level; and "peak" shapes reflected inner damages in one fiber bundle at the fatigue limit stress level. In addition, the similarity of initial electrical resistance-fatigue life curve and S-N curve was observed clearly. In summary, ERC methods can monitor the damage evolution and qualitatively estimate the fatigue life of unidirectional C/C composites.