Evaluation of a novel test method for the determination of strain rate-dependent material properties of high-performance fibers

Abstract For reinforcement in fiber reinforced plastic and concrete applications, the knowledge of the high-velocity impact and crash behavior of typically used high-performance fibers, such as carbon fibers (CF), becomes an important aspect for designing and dimensioning new composite components. More important than the impact velocity is the resulting strain rate in the fiber, which defines the failure behavior. In current literature, there is still an open gap for fiber material testing for strain rates between 100 and 1000 1/s, which is difficult to close with the existing measurement setups, i.e. between servo-hydraulic tensile testing machines and Split-Hopkinson-tension-bars. A rotary drive principle is proposed where the challenge arises in coupling the force, in a reliable clamping of the specimens and in high-speed acquisition of the stress-strain curve. In the implementation process, speeds up to 40 m/s were currently achieved, which corresponds to a strain rate of 267 s-1 for a specimen length of 150 mm. The specimen and the moving elements were prepared with stochastic patterns and evaluated by means of digital image correlation (DIC). The force signal is recorded and correlated from a piezoelectric load cell. Additional information on the energy dissipated by the tensile test was acquired by analyzing the engine control records. The evaluation of high-speed images by DIC shows that there is a partially elastic impact and acceleration reaches its maxima before the specimen’s rupture. Thus, for a precise evaluation, the stress equilibrium has to be taken into account and the impact process has to be further optimized.