Strain-rate dependence of the tensile strength of glass fibers

It is well known that the strength of glass fibers increases with increasing strain rate. Consequently, impact strength of glass fiber is competitive with that of carbon fiber. This strengthening phenomenon is well recognized for bulk glass. Strain-rate dependence of the strength for bulk glass was described by considering slow crack growth in glass. The analytical model that considered the slow crack growth of glass is proposed to predict the strength of glass fibers. The proposed model considered the stress corrosion limit and a constant crack velocity region. Calculations showed almost same results with the previous model, however, some differences were confirmed. To discuss the validity of the analysis, tensile tests of E-glass fiber bundles were conducted at various strain rates. It was observed that the fracture behaviors differ with the strain rates. Experimental results showed that the strength of E-glass fibers increased with increasing strain rate. Furthermore, we confirmed that the analytical results were in good agreement with the experimental results. The strain-rate dependence of the strength of glass fibers was successfully predicted by considering the slow crack growth in glass.