High-Strain-Rate Tests of Epoxy/Aluminum-Powder Composites

It is important to understand how composites behave under complex, changing loads.

Initial tests have been performed in a continuing experimental study to determine selected mechanical properties, at high strain rates, of an epoxy and of composite materials consisting of the epoxy filled with aluminum powders. These composites are examples of the large variety of polymer-matrix/particlefilling composites in general, which are widely used in military and civilian applications. The properties of such composites can be tailored for specific applications through appropriate choices of constituent materials, the proportions of the constituent materials, and the sizes of the particles. Especially in aerospace structural applications, the composites are exposed to complex, temporally varying loads. Therefore, the mechanical properties of such composites’ high strain rates are of increasing importance.