Accelerated testing of composites

It is shown that the Zhurkov method for testing the strength of solids can be applied to dynamic tension and to cyclic loading and provides a viable approach to accelerated testing of composites. Data from the literature are used to demonstrate a straightforward application of the method to dynamic tension of glass fiber and cyclic loading for glass/polymer, metal matrix, and graphite/epoxy composites. Zhurkov's equation can be used at relatively high loads to obtain failure times at any temperature of interest. By taking a few data points at one or two other temperatures the spectrum of failure times can be expanded to temperatures not easily accessible.