Design and Development of an Interchangeable Clamp for Tensile Testing of UHMWPE Composites with 3D DIC

Abstract:

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) laminate composites are widely used in impact-resistant structures due to their high specific strength and exceptional energy absorption capabilities. However, previous studies encountered challenges in characterizing the tensile properties of UHMWPE composites, including specimen slippage, stress concentrations, and failures outside the gauge length. This work presents the design and development of an interchangeable clamp for the tensile testing of UHMWPE composites. This clamp guarantees secure gripping and uniform load transfer across the UHMWPE specimens. The developed clamp can be used interchangeably in quasi-static and high-strain-rate devices, facilitating the evaluation of a broad range of strain rates. The tensile properties of two UHMWPE composites were subsequently assessed using this clamping system, with strain measured through three-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC). The effectiveness of a 3D-DIC technique for measuring strain in the UHMWPE composite is demonstrated. The tests reveal that the designed clamp enables reliable measurements, with tensile strength values reaching approximately 1300 MPa. The measured tensile properties are useful for the input data of numerical simulations, providing valuable insights for developing highly efficient protective structures.

• Periodical: Advances in Science and Technology (Volume 171)
• Pages: 67-74
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-4SzUCD
• Online since: December 2025
• Authors: Alia Ruzanna Aziz*, Naresh Kakur, Henrique Ramos, Rafael Santiago
• Keywords: Digital Image Correlation, Quasi-Static, Tensile Properties, UHMWPE

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