Characterization of Effects of Strain Rate and Temperature on Impact Compressive Damage Progress of Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites

Impact compression damage evolution in unidirectional glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites is investigated by using the improved SHPB apparatus, where the impact loading can be stopped at any moment in the impact process so that the specimen can be recovered at various levels of loading. The effects of test temperatures and strain rates are studied experimentally. The scanning electron micrographs of the recovered specimens have revealed that the compressive failure of unidirectional GFRP composites is caused by the microbuckling of the fibers in both impact and static loadings. The compressive strength is related to the nonlinear in-plane shear property of unidirectional composites, and the theoretical prediction shows good agreement with the experimental result.