ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the long-term rupture from fiber damage under pure static or pure cyclic loads. It describes the generalized fiber strain-corrosion. The process of fiber strain-corrosion involves the deterioration of tensile loaded glass fibers in the presence of water. There are two types of static long-term ruptures of laminates, both caused by strain-corrosion. The two types are: the fiber strain-corrosion and laminate strain-corrosion. Water is the only known chemical species capable of causing generalized long-term fiber strain-corrosion. The high mobility of the water molecules assures that all plies reach hydric equilibrium with the moisture in the atmosphere, or in the soil, or in the chemical solutions in a short time. Strain-corrosion is the only known process capable of growing cracks under static loads. The chapter discusses the ply rupture under pure static loads. The mechanism of crack growth in single fibers under pure cyclic loads is different from the strain-corrosion of the pure static case.
