title: Dynamic damage in carbon-fibre composites.
abstract: The Taylor test is used to determine damage evolution in carbon-fibre composites across a range of strain rates. The hierarchy of damage across the scales is key in determining the suite of operating mechanisms and high-speed diagnostics are used to determine states during dynamic loading. Experiments record the test response as a function of the orientation of the cylinder cut from the engineered multi-ply composite with high-speed photography and post-mortem target examination. The ensuing damage occurs during the shock compression phase but three other tensile loading modes operate during the test and these are explored. Experiment has shown that ply orientations respond to two components of release; longitudinal and radial as well as the hoop stresses generated in inelastic flow at the impact surface. The test is a discriminant not only of damage thresholds but of local failure modes and their kinetics. This article is part of the themed issue 'Multiscale modelling of the structural integrity of composite materials'.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK Centre for Matter under Extreme Conditions, School of Materials, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK neil.bourne@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: N K
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8883-1196
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Bourne
authors.affiliation: Centre for Matter under Extreme Conditions, School of Materials, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK Defence Science and Technology Organisation, PO Box 1500, Edinburgh, South Australia 5111, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.affiliation: Centre for Matter under Extreme Conditions, School of Materials, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Withers
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1402-9838
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soutis
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frias
keywords: Taylor’s test; composite failure; damage; dynamic loading