Experimental Investigation of Strain Rate and Temperature Dependent Response of an Epoxy Resin Undergoing Large Deformation

Abstract

Experimental investigation of the effect of strain rate and temperature on large inelastic deformation of an epoxy resin is presented. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on DER 353 epoxy resin at strain rates ranging from 0.001 to 12,000/s. Experimental results showed significant rate sensitivity in yield stress, which increased from 85 MPa at 0.001/s to 220 MPa at 12,000/s strain rate. Thermal softening became more prominent as the strain rate was increased, resulting in complete absence of strain hardening at high strain rates. Rise in temperature under high strain rate, due to adiabatic heating, was estimated to increase above glass transition temperature (T g ). A series of compression tests carried out at temperatures ranging from ambient to T g + 80 °C showed yield stress vanishing at T g . Above T g , the epoxy became completely rubbery elastic at quasi-static loading rate. Epoxy became less sensitive to strain rate as the temperature was increased further above T g . The strain rate and temperature dependent yield behavior of the epoxy resin is predicted using Ree–Eyring model.