An experimental study of impact-induced failure events in homogeneous layered materials using dynamic photoelasticity and high-speed photography

The generation and the subsequent evolution of dynamic failure events in homogeneous layered materials that occur within microseconds after impact were investigated experimentally. Tested configurations include three-layer and two-layer, bonded Homalite specimens featuring different bonding strengths. High-speed photography and dynamic photoelasticity were utilized to study the nature, sequence and interaction of failure modes. A series of complex failure modes was observed. In most cases, and at the early stages of the impact event, intra-layer failure (or bulk matrix failure) appeared in the form of cracks radiating from the impact point. These cracks were opening-dominated and their speeds were less than the crack branching speed of the Homalite. Subsequent crack branching in several forms was also observed. Mixed-mode inter-layer cracking (or interfacial debonding) was initiated when the intra-layer cracks approached the interface with a large incident angle. The dynamic interaction between inter-layer crack formation and intra-layer crack growth (or the so-called “Cook–Gordon Mechanism”) was visualized for the first time. Interfacial bonding played a significant role in impact damage spreading. Cracks arrested at weak bonds and the stress wave intensity was reduced dramatically by the use of a thin but ductile adhesive layer.