Tensile Behaviour and Strength Distribution of Polyvinyl-Alcohol Fibre at High Strain Rates

Mechanical properties of Polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) fibre bundles were studied at three high strain rates (270/s, 600/s and 1500/s). It was found that, except for the elastic modulus, which remains unchanged, both the maximum stress and the failure strain show an apparent increase with strain rate. Two failure modes of PVA fibre under tensile impact were observed. A four-parameter Weibull function was adopted to describe the strength distribution of PVA fibre and the Weibull parameters were obtained by a fibre bundle testing method. Consistency between simulated and experimental results indicates that such a function and the method are valid and reliable.