Creep is eminent in fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite materials given the susceptibility of polymers to constant loading. The response of polymer matrix composites used in retrofitting vital infrastructure to long‐term flexural loadings is investigated to elucidate the effect of creep. The experimental approach consisted of first establishing a benchmark of the quasi‐statically tested flexural properties. A fresh set of samples were then flexural tested for an extended period. Failure was determined to be strain‐driven in both quasi‐static and long‐term testing conditions. The mechanical properties were found to be insensitive to the strain rate (in the low strain regime), while being mildly sensitive to creep loading. The flexural response also showed dependence on the historic creep loading. The creep strain was successfully fitted into Baily‐Norton power law, which allowed for forecasting the creep life based on the critical strain failure criteria. The overall results explicate the interrelation between long‐term loading and fidelity of composites‐based infrastructures.

中文翻译：

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用于地下拱顶结构的电子玻璃/乙烯基酯层压复合材料的蠕变分析

考虑到聚合物对恒定载荷的敏感性，蠕变在纤维增强的聚合物基复合材料中尤为突出。研究了用于改造重要基础设施的聚合物基复合材料对长期挠曲载荷的响应，以阐明蠕变的影响。实验方法包括首先建立准静态测试的弯曲性能基准。然后将一组新的样品进行弯曲测试较长时间。在准静态和长期测试条件下，确定故障都是由应变驱动的。发现机械性能对应变速率不敏感（在低应变状态下），而对蠕变载荷则较敏感。挠曲响应也显示出对历史蠕变载荷的依赖性。蠕变应变已成功地符合Baily-Norton幂定律，从而可以根据临界应变破坏准则预测蠕变寿命。总体结果阐明了基于复合材料的基础架构的长期负载与保真度之间的相互关系。