Damage Kinetics of Glass/Epoxy Composite Materials Under Dynamic Compression

Abstract

The strain rate sensitivity of glass fiber-reinforced polymer is studied by testing a single laminate configuration at strain rates of 200—2000 s-1. The compressive material properties are determined by testing the laminate systems with different orientations from low to high strain rates. Samples of cubic geometry are tested in in-plane direction for seven fiber orientations, 08, ±208, ±308, ±458, ±608, ±708, and 908. Preliminary compressive stress—strain vs. strain rates data obtained show that the dynamic material strength increases with increasing strain rates. The tests show a strong material sensitivity to dynamic loading and fiber direction. For in-plane tests, there is a transitional strain rate and a transitional fiber orientation in the trends, reflecting the dependencies on strain rate and fiber orientation observed in experiments. Damage investigations have revealed that the failure events differ and depend on composite sequence lay-ups.