Background: In order to design thin-walled components it is necessary to consider the presence of holes and their effects. For high performance composite structures, this is still an issue, since usually only coupons are used in experimental observations and the influence of free edges and the hole affects the fatigue behavior mutually. Objective: This work aims to find, through experimental trials, an empirical model that can be used to describe and predict the damage propagation, originating from a circular hole. Methods: A fatigue test series is performed and the damage initiation and propagation is monitored with three-dimensional digital image correlation, with which the occurring damage can be measured. Validation of the experimentally induced damage size measured with digital image correlation is performed intermediate with an in-situ measurement with active thermography and phased array ultrasonic. The novelty of this approach is that wide specimens are used, where the influence of the free edges on the hole does not occur. Results: The progression of the detected damage over the test reflects the applied loads, where higher loads cause larger damage. For all defined load levels a similar damage propagation is identified, allowing to establish an empirical model and fit it to the test data. Conclusion: The proposed empirical model provides a novel approach to describe and predict damage propagation originating from a circular hole in thin-walled composite plates. In addition, it is shown that the damage propagation ceases for the selected plate configuration and thus does not lead to a complete failure.

The durability of piezoresistive sensor materials is a core prerequisite for their implementation in structural health monitoring systems. In this work, three piezoresistive materials were subjected to extensive cyclic tensile loadings, and their behaviour was analysed before, after, and during testing. To this end, aluminium specimens were coated with three different industry-grade lacquers, and then piezoresistive materials were applied onto each specimen. Sensors made from carbon black displayed excellent linearity even after tensile loading cycles ($R^2>0.88$). A decline in linearity of all sensors based on carbon allotropes was discovered, whereas the polymer-based sensors improved. Furthermore, their adhesion to the substrate is of great importance. Good adhesion ensures the strains in the underlying structure are correctly transmitted into the sensor materials. Based on contact angle measurements of liquids on sensor materials and on lacquers, their work of adhesion was determined. The findings were verified by tape adhesion tests.

Understanding and predicting damage progression within thin plain-woven carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) components is an essential issue for scheduling maintenance intervals and structural inspections and typically requires extensive test series. However, uncertainties always remain and result in conservative design and unnecessary downtimes due to the repeated inspections of a healthy structure. Structural health monitoring (SHM) can be used to reduce these uncertainties, as it allows one to evaluate the condition of a mechanical structure during operation. Numerous SHM methods have been developed, which achieve different levels of damage identification but are often investigated at small coupons with nonrealistic structural damages and loading conditions on both structure and sensor. The present research investigates electrical impedance tomography (EIT) featuring an elastoresistive thin-film sensor to evaluate damage that propagates from a circular hole in a large plate under cyclic tensile–tensile multiblock loading. Applied fatigue loads were increased multiple times up to a total number of two million cycles. During the loading, damage initiated at the hole and continuously propagated into the plate. Repeated EIT evaluations of the applied sensor and validating evaluations by means of digital image correlation clearly revealed the robustness of the hardware and the potential of the SHM method for damage evaluation of plain-woven CFRP components.

Holes and their effects on the fatigue behavior and damage propagation of thin-walled structural components remain objects of research. In this paper, the previously untreated effect of round holes in thin plain-woven carbon fiber-reinforced plastic plates subjected to simple block loading is examined, and the implication on both damage propagation and residual tensile strength is investigated. Using three-dimensional digital image correlation, the damage propagation in the performed experimental tests is acquired, and the damage size is quantified. The evaluations reveal a relationship between the damage propagation and applied load level, for which an empirical model has been previously established by the authors. As the number of cycles increases, a saturation behavior is found. Once the increased load is imposed on the plate, damage propagation resumes, leading to further damage propagation that can be described with the same empirical model as the initial damage propagation, including renewed saturation behavior. The subsequent experimental tests to determine the residual tensile strength reveal a positive effect of the existing damage size, as the ultimate load significantly exceeds the ultimate load of the non-damaged plate.