Monday  |  Milwaukee  |  11:20 AM–11:40 AM

#19357, Novel Experiment Design to Investigate High Rate Shear Fracture of Composites

Fiber reinforced composites are extremely desirable materials for aerostructure applications due to their inherent high strength to weight ratios. For safe application of these materials in such structures, it is important to understand their mechanical behavior during high-rate loading. High-rate shear testing of fiber reinforced composites provides important data for understanding the material’s high-rate mechanical response. However, there is no generally accepted standardized method for performing high-rate shear tests on fiber reinforced composites. Existing high-rate shear methods typically result in mixed mode loading, rather than deformation and fracture under pure shear conditions. Therefore, a novel unnotched high-rate shear test method for composite materials is investigated. This test method utilizes specialized fixtures to induce direct shear loading on an unnotched test coupon using a split-Hopkinson pressure bar and special high-rate shear fixtures to secure the unnotched test coupon. The novel experiment is designed and simulated using finite element analysis with Ansys LS-DYNA, and preliminary validation tests are performed. The simulation and test results demonstrate a promising concentration of pure shear deformation on the fiber reinforced composite material.

Elias Gerstein   University of Alabama in Huntsville
Tyler Robertson   University of Alabama in Huntsville
Andrew Baumgardner   University of Alabama in Huntsville
Paul Custodio   University of Alabama in Huntsville
Nathan Spulak   University of Alabama in Huntsville