Blast Loading of Epoxy Panels Using a Shock Tube

The high strain rate mechanical response of thin polymer plates has been studied using a modified shock tube. Diagnostics include the pressure-time history of the incident and reflected pulses and the use of digital image correlation (DIC) techniques to extract the time-history of the out-of-plane displacement distribution. Additionally, finite element models have been developed to understand the plate response and to validate and modify plate material constitutive models that have been proposed.