Dynamic crack growth in a fiber-reinforced composite plate

This paper reports an experiment on the failure of a precracked plate made of unidirectional glass-epoxy fiber-reinforced composites subjected to three-point bending impact load. In the experiment, the whole process of crack growth was recorded by using high-speed photographic technique, in which a transmitted light path was adopted. Moreover, a new phenomenon of dynamic fracture has been observed. Based on the results, some preliminary studies have been carried out on the rate and path of the crack growth, as well as the failure mode.