Elastic constants characterization on graphite at 500°C by the virtual fields method

In this paper the elastic constants of graphite at elevated temperature were experimentally investigated by using the virtual fields method (VFM). A new method was presented for the characterization of mechanical properties at elevated temperature. The three-point bending tests were performed on graphite materials by an universal testing machine equipped with heating furnace. Based on the heterogeneous deformation fields measured by the digital image correlation (DIC) technique, the elastic constants were then extracted by using VFM. The measurement results of the elastic constants at 500°C were obtained. The effect on the experimental results was also analyzed. The successful results verify the feasibility of using the proposed method to measure the properties of graphite at high temperature, and the proposed method is believed to have a good potential for further applications.