The behavior of an epoxy resin under one-dimensional shock loading.

The response of an epoxy resin has been investigated using the methods of plate impact to generate planar shock waves. In particular, the Hugoniot, both in stress-particle velocity and shock velocityparticle velocity space, and the variation of shear strength with impact stress, have been investigated. Comparison of the results of this investigation with those of previous workers shows good agreement. Measurements of lateral stress, which have been used to determine the shear strength have indicated that shear strength increases with longitudinal stress in the range investigated. Further, lateral stresses have been shown to decrease behind the shock front, implying an increase of strength of this material during shock loading. It would seem possible that this is a manifestation of the viscoplastic nature of epoxy based resins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]