Confined compression of elastic adhesives at high rates of strain

Elastic adhesives are used in composite armours to bond the ceramic front f ace and the metallic backing plate. The mechanical behaviour of different e lastic adhesives under impact loads have been studied by means of dynamic c ompression tests performed in a split Hopkinson pressure bar. In this exper iments, the stress-strain curve of conned materials at high strain rates an d the capability of transmitting and reflecting the impact energy have been determined. The influence of thickness and ageing on the response of the a dhesive layer have been also considered. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.