Accelerated Testing Methodology for Life Prediction of Unidirectional CFRP Under Tension Load

An accelerated testing methodology (ATM) for evaluating the long-term durability of CFRP laminates has been developed by the authors during many years. In this chapter, first, the strength of PAN-based CFRP laminates conforms to the time–temperature superposition principle (TTSP) for matrix resin viscoelasticity irrespective of the structural configuration and loading style. These facts were confirmed by experimentation. Therefore, the applicability of ATM to the static, creep, and fatigue strengths of PAN-based CFRP laminates is verified based on experimentation. Second, the formulation for time-dependent and temperature-dependent statistical static, creep, and fatigue strengths for CFRP laminates was done based on the matrix resin viscoelasticity. Third, these tensile strengths for the longitudinal direction of unidirectional CFRP were predicted statistically using the formulated equations. The predicted values were compared with experimentally obtained data measured from resin-impregnated CFRP strands as specimens of unidirectional CFRP. Finally, the statistical long-term tensile creep and fatigue strengths are discussed in terms of the role of the matrix resin viscoelasticity.