Publications

Servohydraulic methods for mechanical testing in the Sub-Hopkinson rate regime up to strain rates of 500 1/s

Boyce, Brad B.; Crenshaw, Thomas B.

Tensile and compressive stress-strain experiments on metals at strain rates in the range of 1-1000 1/s are relevant to many applications such as gravity-dropped munitions and airplane accidents. While conventional test methods cover strain rates up to {approx}10 s{sup -1} and split-Hopkinson and other techniques cover strain rates in excess of {approx}1000 s{sup -1}, there are no well defined techniques for the intermediate or ''Sub-Hopkinson'' strain-rate regime. The current work outlines many of the challenges in testing in the Sub-Hopkinson regime, and establishes methods for addressing these challenges. The resulting technique for obtaining intermediate rate stress-strain data is demonstrated in tension on a high-strength, high-toughness steel alloy (Hytuf) that could be a candidate alloy for earth penetrating munitions and in compression on a Au-Cu braze alloy.