Cumulative creep damage for unidirectional composites under step loading

The creep lifetime prediction of unidirectional composite materials under step loading, based on constant loading durability diagram, is analyzed for the two-step creep loading condition. For this purpose different nonlinear cumulative-damage laws are revisited and applied to predict creep lifetime. One possible approach to accounting for damage accumulation is provided by the continuum-damage mechanics (CDM). However, the CDM lifetime expression obtained for constant loading condition presents some drawbacks. Specifically, the upper stress range is not accommodated by CDM form. A modification of CDM is proposed, forcing the CDM to capture the short-term creep failure. It is proven that this modified CDM (MCDM) does not yield the same predictions as the Linear Cumulative-damage law (Miner's law). Predictions obtained from the nonlinear cumulative-damage laws are compared against synthetic lifetime generated by a micromechanical model that simulates unidirectional composites under two-step creep loading condition. Comparable deviations from Miner's law are obtained by the nonlinear cumulative-damage laws.