Investigation of Damage mechanism of composite materials under cyclic loading

Chethana.P.Rao Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India Email : chethanapadamnoorrao@gmail.com

Abstract Composite materials primarily known for their high strength to weight ratio and stiffness to weight ratio are ever increasingly being used as an alternative to conventional materials like metals and metal alloys in the aerospace industry. The work concentrates on the possibility of using composite material in pressure fed propellant tanks instead of traditional metals/alloys. The study includes the design, fabrication and testing of the composite material. Metal composites are of the primary interest, which is acquired by abiding the requirements of the necessary aerospace component. Then experimental analysis shall be carried out to obtain the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the metal composite; such as strain rate, yield strength, tensile strength, elongation and thermal conductivity. These properties are necessary for further prediction of the material behaviour under certain type loading; also it is used to validate the results. A damage mechanism shall also be carried out to predict the fatigue life of the composite material.