Research Article

Fatigue resistance of randomly oriented short glass fiber reinforced polyester composite materials immersed in seawater environment

¹ Civil Engineering Laboratory, Civil Engineering Department, Badji Mokhtar University, PO Box 12, 23000 Annaba, Algeria
² Civil Engineering Department, Med Seddik Benyahia University, 18000 Jijel, Algeria

^* e-mail: bredjel@yahoo.fr

Received: 29 August 2016
Accepted: 21 December 2016

Abstract

Randomly oriented short fiber mat reinforced polyester composite laminates immersed in natural seawater for various periods were tested in static and cyclic fatigue loading under three-point bending conditions. Water absorption increased the weight of the specimen while the extraction of soluble compounds induces a weak weight loss. Wöhler curves carried out from repetitive fatigue tests were drawn for the different periods of immersion time. These curves, which are characterized by an important and a significant scatter in their lifetime, were modeled by straight lines. These glass-polyester laminates deteriorate in fatigue tests at a constant rate by cycle decade. This rate increases with increasing immersion time in seawater at a constant speed. A comparison between different mathematical models of endurance curves shows that Wöhler's equation gives a good representation of the average part of the curve.