Challenges in synchronising high speed full-field temperature and strain measurement

The overall motivation for the research described in the paper is an enhanced understanding of the behaviour of fibre reinforced polymer composites subjected to high velocity loading. In particular, the work described here considers a method that allows the collection of synchronised high speed full-field temperature and strain data to investigate the complex viscoelastic behaviour of fibre reinforced polymer composites material that occurs at high strain rates. The experimental approach uses infra-red thermography (IRT) and digital image correlation (DIC). Because high strain rate events occur rapidly it is necessary to capture the images at high speeds. The paper concentrates on the challenges of the use of IRT and DIC at high speeds to obtain temperature and strain fields from composite materials, and in particular using them in a synchronised manner. In the future such data-rich techniques provide the opportunity for detailed investigation into the viscoelastic behaviour and allow in-depth material characterisation for input to future finite element or numerical models.