Composites FEA
After an initial round of tensile monotonic experiments using compact tension composite specimens, fracture was not consistent at the notch tip. For the cyclic loading experiments, it was critical for fracture initiation to occur at the notch tip so crack nucleation and growth could be tracked throughout cycling.
I worked on redesigning our custom compact tension specimens to elongate the notch tip in order to increase stress concentration and ensure consistent fracture for the cyclic experiments.
