Thermoelastic and infrared-thermography methods for surface strains in cracked orthotropic composite materials

Two quantitative thermoelastic strain analysis (TSA) experimental methods are proposed to determine the surface strain fields in mechanically loaded orthotropic materials using the spatial distribution of temperature gradient measured from the surface. Cyclic loadings are applied to orthotropic composite specimens to achieve adiabatic conditions. The small change in surface temperatures that resulted from the change in the elastic strain energy is measured using a high sensitivity infrared (IR) camera that is synchronized with the applied loading. The first method is applied for layered orthotropic composites with a coat layer made of isotropic or in-plane transversely isotropic material. In this case, one material parameter (pre-calibrated from the surface) is required to map the strain invariant to the temperature gradients. The proposed method can be used together with Lekhnitskii’s elasticity solution to quantify the full strain field and determine mixed-mode stress intensity factors (SIFs) for crack tips in composite plates subjected to off-axis loading. The second method is formulated for orthotropic layers without a coat and it requires thermo-mechanical calibrations for two material parameters aligned with the material axes. The virtual crack closure technique (VCCT), Lekhnitskii’s and Savin’s elasticity solutions, and finite element (FE) analyses are used for demonstrations and validations of the second experimental method. The SIFs from the TSA methods are very sensitive to the uncertainty in the location of the crack tip and the unknown inelastic or damage zone size around the crack tip. The two experimental methods are effective in generating the strain fields around notched and other FRP composites.