Fatigue modeling of chopped strand mat/epoxy composites

In the present research, fatigue behavior of chopped strand mat/epoxy composites has been studied with two different techniques. First, the normalized stiffness degradation approach as a well-known model for unidirectional and laminated composites was utilized to predict the fatigue behavior of chopped strand mat/epoxy composites. Then, the capability of the fatigue damage accumulation model for chopped strand mat/epoxy composites was investigated. A series of tests has been performed at different stress levels to evaluate both models with the obtained results. The results of evaluation indicate a better correlation of the normalized stiffness degradation technique with experimental results in comparison with the fatigue damage accumulation model.