In recent years, composite and polymeric materials have been increasingly replacing conventional metallic materials in aerospace, civil, marine, rail and automotive industries. Some applications of composite and polymeric materials involve dynamically loaded components and structures. Therefore, there is a need to fully understand the dynamic behavior of composite materials for the analysis and design of composite and polymeric structures subjected to impact loadings. However, the mechanical properties of composite and polymeric materials under dynamic loading conditions are not well understood, because there are no standard impact test techniques.
Consequently, we experimentally and numerically examine the effects of strain rate on the compressive and tensile characteristics of composite and polymeric materials. High strain-rate stress-strain curves are obtained on the standard or modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). Low and intermediate strain-rate ones are measured in an Instron testing machine.