Experimental investigations on the effect of a wide range of strain rates on mechanical properties of epoxy adhesives, and prediction of creep and impact strengths

The effect of strain rate on the mechanical properties of two epoxy adhesives was investigated by conducting experiments on dumbbell-shaped specimens prepared from the adhesives. The tensile rate was changed stepwise from 5.2 x 10(-5) to 1.2 x 10(6) mm/min, and the yield stress, Young's modulus, elongation, and tensile strength were evaluated. The yield stress and tensile strength showed a clear dependence on the strain rate. The results from this study allowed us to propose a procedure for predicting the creep strength and high-rate impact strength from the results of a simple tensile test.