Mechanical Characterization of the Tensile Properties of Glass Fiber and Its Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composite under Varying Strain Rates and Temperatures

Unidirectional glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) is tested at four initial strain rates (25, 50, 100 and 200 s(-1)) and six temperatures (-25, 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 degrees C) on a servo-hydraulic high-rate testing system to investigate any possible effects on their mechanical properties and failure patterns. Meanwhile, for the sake of illuminating strain rate and temperature effect mechanisms, glass yarn samples were complementally tested at four different strain rates (40, 80, 120 and 160 s(-1)) and varying temperatures (25, 50, 75 and 100 degrees C) utilizing an Instron drop-weight impact system. In addition, quasi-static properties of GFRP and glass yarn are supplemented as references. The stress-strain responses at varying strain rates and elevated temperatures are discussed. A Weibull statistics model is used to quantify the degree of variability in tensile strength and to obtain Weibull parameters for engineering applications.