An Image Based Inertial Impact Test to Extract Viscoelastic Constitutive Parameters

Abstract

Polymer matrix composites often exhibit a strong strain rate dependance in their mechanical response. In many of these materials, the viscoelastic behavior of the polymer matrix drives the rate dependence in the composite, however identifying these parameters at high strain rate presents a significant challenge. Common high-rate material characterization techniques such as the Kolsky (split-Hopkinson pressure) bar require a large test matrix across a range of strain rates. Kolsky bars also struggle to identify constitutive parameters prior to the yield due to inertial effects and the finite period of time required to reach force equilibrium. The Image Based Inertial Impact (IBII) test has been successfully used to identify linear elastic constitutive behavior of composites at high strain rates, but, to date, has only been used to extract constitutive properties at a single nominal strain rate in each test. Here, we propose an adaptation of the IBII test to identify viscoelastic parameters at high strain rates using full-field displacement data and the nonlinear virtual fields method (VFM). We validate the technique with finite element simulations of an IBII test on a model viscoelastic material that is characterized with a Prony series formulation of the generalized Maxwell model. The nonlinear VFM is then used to extract the Prony pairs for dynamic moduli and time constants from the full-field deformation data. The nonlinear viscoelastic identification allows for characterization of the evolution of mechanical response across a range of strain rates in a single experiment. The experimentally identified viscoelastic parameters of the matrix can then be used to predict the behavior of the composite at high strain rates. This approach will also be validated experimentally using a single-stage gas-gun to characterize the high-rate viscoelastic response of PMMA.