Recent developments in dynamic testing of materials

Three new testing configurations that have been developed since the last DYMAT conference in 2009 are presented. The first is high strain rate testing of Kevlar cloth and Kevlar yarn in a tensile Split Hopkinson Bar (SHB) apparatus. The Kevlar cloth/yarn is attached to the bars by specially designed adaptors that keep the impedance constant. In addition to determining the specimen’s stress and strain from the recorded waves in the bars the deformations are also measured with Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The second testing configuration is a high strain rate shear test for sheet metal. The experiment is done by using a flat notched specimen in a tensile SHB apparatus. The shear strain is measured using DIC within the notch and on the boundary. The third development is a compression apparatus for testing at intermediate strain rates ranging from 20 s−1 to 200 s−1. The apparatus is a combination of a hydraulic actuator and a compression SHB. The stress in the specimen is determined from the stress wave in a very long transmitter bar and the strain and strain rate is determined by using DIC. The results show clean stress strain curves (no ringing)