Strain rate and temperature effects on the dynamic tensile behaviors of glass and basalt fiber reinforced polymer composites

High-strength woven fabrics and polymers are ideal materials for applications in structural and aerospace systems where large deformations and high energy absorption are required. Mechanical characterization of the dynamic properties of this class of materials is of great importance considering the extreme conditions such as explosion, impact and ballistic loading. In present work, the effects of strain rate and temperature on the dynamic tensile behaviors of glass and basalt fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP and BFRP) were investigated. These composites were fabricated using vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI). Dynamic tensile tests of GFRP and BFRP coupons with a gage length of 25 mm were conducted at four nominal strain rates (25, 50, 100 and 200 s^-1) using a servo-hydraulic high-rate testing system. The speed of the stroke is controlled by the opening and closing of the servo valve of hydraulic supply. Additionally, effect of temperature was studied within a range from -25 to 100 °C at the strain rate of 25 s^-1 by means of an environmental chamber and liquid nitrogen (low temperature). The failure behavior of the composites was characterized using a Phantom v7.3 high speed digital camera at the sampling rate of 20000 fps with resolution of 256 × 256 pixels. The stress-strain responses and failure modes at varying strain rate and temperature were discussed. The results showed that dynamic properties of the composites in terms of tensile strength and toughness generally increased with increasing strain rate. Moreover, these material parameters exhibited a decreasing trend with rising temperature. GFRP demonstrated higher tensile strength and toughness than those of BFRP under the same condition generally.