Design and Development of Fatigue Test Setup for Composite Laminate

Fatigue results in failure materials subjected to completely reversed or cyclic loading. An important consideration for design is ultimate strength of the epoxy glass-fiber composite laminate. Hand Lay-up technique was employed for composite fabrication of Epoxy and E-Glass Fiber. Epoxy resin and hardener were mixed using the ratio of 2:1 parts by weight. The entire setup includes motor, gearbox, cam and shaft assembly, springs, plates, grippers, flat needle roller bearings, sliding channel. The tension fatigue test of composite specimen is measured by applying constant frequency of 3Hz. Moreover the specimen and design considerations are as per ASTM standards. Unidirectional glass-fiber epoxy specimens with 0°, 45°, and 90° are used as samples for test. For demonstration of machine functionality, the measured results of few test have been compared with numerical methodology. This types of machines are very expensive hence simplicity and overall cost are important considerations in this system.