J. Michael Pereira, Gary D. Roberts, and Charles R. Ruggeri

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Amos Gilat and Thomas Matrka

The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Experimental Techniques for Evaluating the Effects 

of Aging on Impact and High Strain Rate Properties 

of Triaxial Braided Composite Materials

NASA/TM—2010-216763

August 2010

TP 3188
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J. Michael Pereira, Gary D. Roberts, and Charles R. Ruggeri

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Amos Gilat and Thomas Matrka

The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Experimental Techniques for Evaluating the Effects 

of Aging on Impact and High Strain Rate Properties 

of Triaxial Braided Composite Materials

NASA/TM—2010-216763

August 2010

TP 3188

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

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NASA/TM—2010-216763 1

Experimental Techniques for Evaluating the Effects of Aging on 

Impact and High Strain Rate Properties of Triaxial Braided 

Composite Materials

J. Michael Pereira, Gary D. Roberts, and Charles R. Ruggeri

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Amos Gilat and Thomas Matrka

The Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio 43210

Abstract

An experimental program is underway to measure the impact and high strain rate properties of triaxial

braided composite materials and to quantify any degradation in properties as a result of thermal and 

hygroscopic aging typically encountered during service. Impact tests are being conducted on flat panels 

using a projectile designed to induce high rate deformation similar to that experienced in a jet engine fan 

case during a fan blade-out event. The tests are being conducted on as-fabricated panels and panels 

subjected to various numbers of aging cycles. High strain rate properties are being measured using a 

unique Hopkinson bar apparatus that has a larger diameter than conventional Hopkinson bars. This larger 

diameter is needed to measure representative material properties because of the large unit cell size of the 

materials examined in this work. In this paper the experimental techniques used for impact and high strain 

rate testing are described and some preliminary results are presented for both as-fabricated and aged 

composites.

1.0 Introduction

Triaxial braided composite materials offer some advantages over laminated unidirectional composites 

in applications involving impact loading. One of these is that braided composites can be designed such 

that each layer is quasi-isotropic, thereby reducing the tendency observed in traditional composite 

architectures to delaminate under impact due to shear stresses caused by the differing strain response of 

each layer. Efficient manufacturing methods for braided composites offer additional cost benefits in 

certain applications. It has been demonstrated that structures such as jet engine fan containment systems 

manufactured from triaxial braided composites can lead to a significant weight reduction (Refs. 1 and 2)

while maintaining the ability to contain a failed fan blade, required for its safety function. The materials 

currently being used are primarily standard modulus carbon fibers and 350 °F cure epoxy matrix 

materials. Various fiber/matrix combinations have been examined for static strength and impact 

resistance. Composites made with toughened matrix materials typically have higher static strength. The 

effect of matrix toughness on impact resistance is more complex because of the high rate deformation and 

failure processes. As an example, one composite with a very brittle matrix has exhibited low static 

strength, as expected, but very high impact resistance. This may be attributed to the lower-toughness 

resins allowing more fibers to be involved in energy absorption. The high strain rate response of the 

materials may also play a role in the differing impact response. Aging of the composite could result in 

some embrittlement of the matrix material. This would be expected to result in lower static strength, but 

the effect on impact resistance is not clear. To investigate these phenomena an experimental program is 

underway to measure the impact and high strain rate properties of triaxial braided composites and to 

quantify any degradation in properties as a result of thermal and hygroscopic aging typically encountered 
NASA/TM—2010-216763 2

during service. Preliminary results of ongoing testing of aging on one material system has indicated a 

large reduction in matrix tensile strength and strain to failure (embrittlement) without an associated 

reduction in tensile strength of the composite after 52 weeks of repeated temperature and humidity cycles. 

This paper describes techniques that are being developed to investigate the impact resistance of these 

composite materials and how the impact resistance changes with aging.

When considering an impact involving a hard projectile with a sharp edge, local through-thickness 

shear failure due to the cutting action of the projectile may be the primary initial cause of failure. For the 

purposes of this study we assume that some technique is incorporated in the system of interest to mitigate 

the local initial cutting failure and that the impact energy is absorbed over a larger volume through 

tension in the fibers and the transfer of stresses through deformation of the resin material. Actual bladeout tests and ballistic impact tests to simulate fan blade-out in hardwall composite containment systems 

have shown that the deformation can be controlled to induce this type of failure (Ref. 1). A previous study 

conducted to investigate the impact energy absorption of braided composite systems utilized a relatively 

soft ballistic gelatin projectile to reduce localized stress concentrations and cutting of the composite 

specimens (Ref. 3). Radial deformation measurements from an actual fan blade-out test on a composite 

case, ballistic impact tests on composite fan cases to simulate blade-out tests, and flat composite panel 

impact tests using a gelatin projectile have shown qualitatively similar results (Refs. 1 and 3).

In the impact tests described in Reference 3 the composite panels were 24- by 24-in. and were held in 

a square fixture with a 20 in. aperture. Due to the high cost and limited availability of composite test 

specimens, for this study an impact test was developed that uses 12- by 12-in. panels held in a circular 

fixture. Impact tests are being conducted on flat panels using a projectile designed to induce deformation

similar to those observed in actual composite fan case blade out tests. The tests are being conducted on 

as-fabricated panels and panels subjected to various numbers of aging cycles.

In addition to the impact testing, high strain rate properties of composite specimens in the asfabricated and aged conditions are being measured using a unique Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar 

apparatus. The Compression Split Hopkinson Bar (SHB) technique, introduced by Kolsky (Ref. 4), is 

the most commonly used technique for measuring the mechanical properties of materials (stress-strain 

curves) at strain rates ranging from 200 to 5000 s–1

. In the SHB test, shown schematically in Figure 1, 

a short material specimen is placed between two bars. 

The specimen is loaded by a wave that is generated in one of the bars (incident bar). Upon loading, 

part of the loading wave reflects back to the incident bar and part propagates on through the specimen to 

the transmitter bar. The amplitude of the loading wave and the dimensions of the specimen are designed 

such that the specimen is loaded to failure during the test. The incident and transmitter bars remain elastic 

throughout the test. The waves in the bars, which are measured with strain gages, are recorded. In the 

classical configuration, the stress, strain rate, and strain in the specimen during the test are determined 

from the recorded waves in the bars using elastic wave theory. The stress in the specimen is determined 

from the wave in the transmitter bar. This wave corresponds to the force that is applied to the specimen’s 

end that is in contact with the bar. The force is divided by the cross-sectional area, which gives the 

average stress. The determination of the strain is more difficult. In the standard analysis of a SHB test the 

velocity of the ends of the bars where the specimen is placed is determined from the measured elastic 

waves in the bars. The difference in the velocity of the two ends divided by the specimen’s length gives 

the average strain rate.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 3

The average stress, strain rate, and strain that are measured in a standard SHB experiment are 

accurate if the specimen is under a uniform state of uniaxial compression. In a typical compression SHB 

apparatus the diameter of the bars is 0.5- to 1.0-in. and the specimen is a short (0.2- to 0.35-in.) small 

diameter (0.2- to 0.35-in.) cylinder. With these dimensions the main assumptions (uniform stress and 

strain under uniaxial compression) are valid.

The standard SHB configuration is not suitable for testing 3–D braided composites since the width 

and length of a specimen characteristic of these materials are large compared to the diameter of the bars.

For this reason a new SHB apparatus with bars that have a diameter of 2 in. has been developed for this 

program. The new apparatus uses the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique for measuring strain 

directly on the specimen which eliminates the requirement of assuming that the strain distribution in the 

specimen is uniform spatially and temporally during the deformation process.

2.0 Methods

2.1 Materials

The composite materials considered here consist of six layers of braided fabric with a [0/+60/–60] 

quasi-isotropic layup made using Toray T700s fibers. Several different resins are under investigation. For 

the impact testing conducted in this study, the resin under consideration is Epon E-862 resin. High strain 

rate data is being measured on this material as well as on composites with Cytec PR520 toughened epoxy.

The material is fabricated in 24- by 24-in. flat panels with a thickness of 0.125 in. using a resin transfer 

molding process. The architecture of the triaxial braid is shown in Figure 2. The materials have been

tested in the as-fabricated condition as well as after a number of thermal and hygroscopic cycles that

simulate conditions similar to those of an engine in service. The panels undergo two temperature and 

humidity cycles in a 24 hr period as shown in Figure 3.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 4

2.2 Ballistic Impact Testing

The ballistic impact response of the composite specimens is being measured by impacting projectiles 

into flat plates at a normal incidence using a single stage gas gun with a 2 in. bore and a length of 12 ft.

The composite test specimens measure 12- by 12-in. and are clamped in a circular fixture with an aperture 

of 1 in. (Fig. 4). To eliminate slipping at the boundary, 28 bolts extend through the fixture front clamp,

the specimen and the rear fixture plate. The projectile is a thin walled hollow AL 2024 cylinder with a 

nominal mass of 50 gm and a front face with a compound radius (Fig. 5). This projectile was designed 

based on a number of considerations. One is that AL 2024 is a well characterized material and its 

properties are independent of strain rate at least to rates up to 5000/sec. This significantly simplifies 

computational modeling of the impact test compared to the use of a soft body projectile. The radius of the 

front face of the projectile was designed such that the deformation profile and failure mode were similar 

to those observed in the composite plate tests described in Reference 3. The projectile underwent a design 

modification after the initial stages of the test program. Originally the overall length of the projectile was 

1.243 in., with a length of 0.75 in. for the straight cylindrical section. However, due to some problems 

related to velocity repeatability and impact orientation, the overall length of the projectile was increased 

to 1.947 in. and the wall thickness reduced to 0.030 in. All other characteristics of the projectile, 

including the front face profile and overall mass remained the same. The projectiles have a diameter of 

1.995 (+0/–.006) in., such that they fit inside the gun barrel with just enough clearance so that they would 

slide easily.

In each test the impact velocity and the exit velocity, if penetration occurs, is measured using 

calibrated high speed digital video cameras (Phantom V7.3, Vision Research Inc., Wayne, New Jersey).

Full field displacement and strain measurements on the back side of each panel are measured using the 

ARAMIS digital image correlation system (GOM, Braunschweig, Germany) in conjunction with a 

calibrated pair of Photron model SA1.1 cameras (Photron USA, San Diego, California).

A series of impact tests has been completed on T700/E-862 composite panels. Twelve tests were 

conducted on 12- by 12-in. test panels cut from three separate 24- by 24-in. as-fabricated plates and eight 

test panels cut from two plates that had undergone 344 temperature and humidity cycles (approximately 6

months) shown in Figure 3.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 5

2.3 High Strain Rate Testing

A series of high strain rate compression tests is being conducted on specimens machined from 

triaxially braided composite panels composed of Toray T700 fibers and Cytec PR520 toughened epoxy.

The fiber architecture is the same as described above. Because of the relatively large fiber tows, to obtain 

representative high strain rate data, the specimen sizes are relatively large compared to those used in 

typical SHB testing. The Hopkinson bar apparatus with a bar diameter of 2 in., developed for this 

program, is being used to test these specimens. Tension and shear experiments using a large diameter bar 

have not yet been developed, but may be considered in the future.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 6

The specimen is a rectangular coupon (1.4 in. wide, 0.5 in. long) machined from the composite 

panels. The coupon is glued into two adapters (Fig. 6) such that 0.062 in. of the length at each end is 

inside the adapters, and a 0.375 in. long section in the middle is the material that is actually tested.

Specimens are being tested with the axial fibers in the direction of the loading. The specimen (painted 

for the DIC analysis) and the bars are shown in Figure 7.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 7

3.0 Results

3.1 Ballistic Impact Testing

A series of still photos taken from a high speed video camera, from just prior to impact to projectile 

rebound, is shown in Figure 8. In all cases, except one, the projectile orientation was straight and there 

was no slippage evident between the plate and the fixture. In one test the projectile was pitched downward 

approximately 8°. The penetration velocity for all panels is shown in Figure 9 with the as-fabricated panel 

data on the left and the aged panel data on the right. The data is separated into five columns, each with 

four data points associated with the four panels cut from a single 24- by 24-in. plate. The solid symbols 

indicate tests in which the projectile penetrated the panel and open symbols those in which the projectile 

did not. Triangular symbols indicate tests using the original projectile (designated Projectile A) and 

circular symbols indicate tests conducted with the modified longer projectile (designated Projectile B).

The velocity required to penetrate the aged and unaged panels was in the range of 530 to 550 ft/sec. The 

test results indicate that there is no significant reduction in the penetration velocity for the panels after 

344 cycles of aging compared with the as-fabricated panels. For each 24- by 24-in. panel there is no 

overlap in the penetration velocity (i.e., no cases where the projectile penetrated at a lower velocity than a 

non-penetration test) except for the case where the projectile orientation was not normal to the test panel 

as indicated in the figure. There is no obvious indication that the change in projectile length had any 

effects on the results.

The results indicate that there is some variation in penetration velocity between panels. An example of 

this variation can be seen in the second and third columns of the as-fabricated panel tests, where the 

penetration velocity for one set of panels is below 530 ft/sec, and in the other set above 540 ft/sec. While 

this variation may be considered small, it appears to be greater than any changes due to the 344 aging 

cycles.

Figure 10 shows the deformation profile on the back side of a panel from a typical impact test at a 

velocity just below the penetration velocity (544 ft/sec). The deformation is relatively localized at the center 

of the panel, with a maximum of 0.58 in., and is similar to the profiles observed in an actual fan case bladeout test on a composite case (Ref. 1) and to those seen in larger panel tests with a soft gelatin projectile 

(Ref. 3). The damage induced by the projectile is diffuse, as opposed to a cutting or shearing failure, as can 

be seen in Figure 11 which shows a panel in which the projectile penetrated at a velocity of 554 ft/sec.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 8
NASA/TM—2010-216763 9

3.2 High Strain Rate Testing

Results from the first pilot test conducted with the new Split Hopkinson Bar apparatus are shown in 

Figures 12 to 15. Figure 12 shows the waves recorded in the incident and transmitted bars. Note that the 

amplitude of the incident wave is over 40,000 lb. The wave in the transmitter bar is actually the force 

transmitted through the specimen. The record shows a signal with a force that reaches 10,000 lb. The 

stress in the specimen is shown in Figure 13. The strain measured in the specimen (middle point) during 

the test with DIC system is shown in Figure 14. The average strain rate during the test (the slope of the 

strain versus time curve) is approximately 150 s–1

. The stress-strain curve is shown in Figure 15. The 

overall stress level appears to be significantly higher than the stress that was measured in quasi-static 

compression tests of specimens with the same configuration.
NASA/TM—2010-216763 10
NASA/TM—2010-216763 11

4.0 Discussion

The impact and high strain rate tests discussed here were developed to study any changes in material 

properties and impact performance of composites due to in-service temperature and humidity cycles.

While only preliminary results are available to date, both methods give quantitative information relevant 

to any degradation in performance for structures subjected to impact loading. The loading and damage 

modes in the impact tests are representative of those observed in actual fan case blade-out events. The 

relatively small panel test size allows greater statistical confidence in results due to the ability to conduct 

more tests. The projectile material significantly simplifies computational modeling of the test. The large 

diameter Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar enables the measurement of representative high strain rate data for 

composites with large cell sizes, such as the triaxially braided materials considered here. 

The limited results to date do not indicate a significant reduction in impact performance after 344 

cycles of temperature and humidity representative of typical engine service conditions. Future work will 

concentrate on measuring the impact performance after longer aging periods and quantifying any changes 

in the high strain rate properties of the composites. 

References

1. Roberts, G.D., Pereira, J.M., Braley, M.S, and Arnold, W.A., “Design and Testing of Braided 

Composite Fan Case Materials and Components,” 19th International Symposium on Air Breathing 

Engines, Montreal, Sept., 2009.

2. Ogando, J., “Boeing’s More Electric 787 Dreamliner Spurs Engine Evolution,” Design News, 

June 3, 2007.

3. Ruggeri, C., “High Strain Rate Data Acquisition of 2D Braided Composite Substructures,” M.Sc. 

Thesis, The University of Akron, 2009.

4. Kolsky, H., “An Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Materials at Very High Rates of 

Loading,” Proc. Phys. Soc. B 62, 676, 1949.
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14. ABSTRACT

An experimental program is underway to measure the impact and high strain rate properties of triaxial braided composite materials and to 

quantify any degradation in properties as a result of thermal and hygroscopic aging typically encountered during service. Impact tests are 

being conducted on flat panels using a projectile designed to induce high rate deformation similar to that experienced in a jet engine fan case 

during a fan blade-out event. The tests are being conducted on as-fabricated panels and panels subjected to various numbers of aging cycles. 

High strain rate properties are being measured using a unique Hopkinson bar apparatus that has a larger diameter than conventional 

Hopkinson bars. This larger diameter is needed to measure representative material properties because of the large unit cell size of the 

materials examined in this work. In this paper the experimental techniques used for impact and high strain rate testing are described and 

some preliminary results are presented for both as-fabricated and aged composites.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Composite materials; Impact tests; Strain rate 

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