Low cycle fatigue of PPS polymer injection welds (II) - Fiber orientation and fracture mechanism

The polymer composites contain numerous internal boundaries and its structural elements have different responses and different resistances under the same service environment. Fatigue phenomenon is much more complex in composites than homogeneous materials. An understanding of the fracture behavior of polymer composite materials subjected to constant and cyclic loading is necessary for predicting the life time of structures fabricated with polymers. There is a need to acquire a better understanding of the fatigue performance and failure mechanisms of composites under such conditions. Therefore, in this study the analyses of fiber orientation and fracture mechanism for low cycle fatigue crack have been studied by SEM and LM for observing the ultrathin sections.