It is well-known that the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced composites under hydrostatic pressure environment is different from that of atmospheric pressure environment. It is also known that the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced composites is affected by a strain rate. In this work, we investigated the effect of strain rate on the compressive elastic modulus, fracture stress, and fracture strain of carbon/epoxy composites under hydrostatic pressure environment. The material used in the compressive test was unidirectional carbon/epoxy composites and the hydrostatic pressures applied was 270 MPa. Compressive tests were performed applying three strain rates of 0.05 %/sec, 0.25 %/sec, and 0.55 %/sec. The results showed that the elastic modulus increased with increasing strain rate while the fracture stress was little affected by the strain rate. The results also showed that the fracture strain decreased with increasing strain rate.
