Authors(s): Naisha Muhammed, J. V. Muruga Lal Jeyan

Abstract: Failure modes on Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) under fatigue loading and observed using Scanning Electron Microscope. The fatigue behavior was found in three regions and in these regions, the matrix crack initiation, fiber failure and fiber-matrix delamination, fatigue growth during loading process were found. Under cyclic loading, the damage will accumulate in composite materials. This cause the break/crack or functional failure of structures. For isotropic materials with identical in all directions material properties, damages piled up at a low growth rate in the beginning, and a single crack spreads in a perpendicular direction to the cyclic loading axis. The increasing number of cycles causes fiber failure. The matrix and fiber damages results in weakening of the composite specimen. Scanning electron microscope method shows, the damage is constituted by the fracture of the fiber and matrix and identify their growth mechanism under fatigue loadings, scanning electron microscope observations are in agreement with these results as obtained from the experimental test.