CP955, Shock Compression of Condensed Matter - 2007, edited by M. Elert, M. D. Furnish, R. Chau, N. Holmes, and J.

Nguyen 2007 American Institute of Physics 978-0-7354-0469-4/07/$23.00

TWO-STEP LOADING IN A SPLIT HOPKINSON PRESSURE BAR

Rachel E. Briggs, Daniel R. Drodge, David M. Williamson and William G. Proud
SMF Group, Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK

Abstract. In conventional Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) experiments the striker bar is a single rod and the sample is loaded at one strain rate. In this study, we present results from a system that uses a striker bar formed from two rods of different materials. A two level loading pulse is generated, subjecting the sample to two different strain-rates: either a low strain-rate followed by a higher strain-rate (step up) or vice versa (step-down). The sample does not experience repeat loading or signicant unloading between the two regimes. The step-down loading sequence, of equal durations at 2300 s1 and 400 s1 , has been applied to iron and copper samples. History independence is observed for iron, as expected from its BCC structure. Keywords: SHPB, Flow stress PACS: 62.20.Fe

INTRODUCTION An increasingly common use of the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) technique is to provide data for material model validation through the simulation of experiments. Stepped pulse loading can represent a more challenging scenario for models as it allows the repeat loading of a sample, at different strain rates, without signicant unloading. Stepped pulse methods have been described for tensile systems [1, 2], and used to test ceramic rubble in compression [3]. Here, we apply the method to compression experiments on a BCC metal (iron) and an FCC metal (copper). FCC metals exhibit a less pronounced ow-stress dependence upon strain rate than BCC metals, but they do undergo strain hardening [4]. It would be expected that BCC metals would exhibit higher ow stresses at higher rates, with little effect on work hardening rate; whereas FCC metals would see the reverse: work hardening rate would increase at high strain rate, but the ow stress would remain almost unchanged [5]. The expected responses for a tworate experiment on BCC and FCC materials are illustrated in Fig. 1.

METHOD In the standard SHPB experiment, the sample sits between two coaxial rods, instrumented with strain gauges. A striker bar impacts the input rod, exciting a rectangular stress pulse which travels down the rod, loading the sample. From the stress transmitted through and reected back from the interface with the sample, one can infer the stress and strain rate. The details are described in the open literature [6]. In the research reported here, input and output bars made of Inconel steel, of 12.7 mm diameter and 50 cm length, were used. For identical samples of a given material, we would expect that a higher amplitude loading pulse will lead to a higher strain rate. In order to generate a two-level loading pulse, a striker bar composed of two pieces, each of a different material, is assembled. Provided their mechanical impedances differ sufciently, the structure of the wave imparted to the input bar will take either a step-up or step-down form, depending on whether the higher impedance material is at the front or rear. A step-down pulse occurs when the high impedance rod strikes the input bar rst (see Fig. 2). The pressure wave propagating back into the striker

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BCC

FCC

& H

& H
& L

& L

A B

FIGURE 1. Cartoon illustrating the path-dependence of FCC vs. BCC metals. Two (t ) paths are shown for each type, one for a single high rate experiment, and one for a low-rate experiment. The dotted lines represent the path taken by a stepped H to low strain rate L occurs after time t j . At this point, strain of H t j has been pulse. The jump from high strain rate accumulated along the high-rate path. The stress state now experienced is that corresponding to the same strain on the low-rate path, point B, but at an earlier time, marked by point A. There is a difference in the step-down (t ) path and the low-rate (t ) path. Because BCC metals work-harden less than FCC metals, this difference is less pronounced and path-dependence is less apparent.
ZL ZH GAUGE

rod meets the high-low impedance interface and reects as a release wave, reducing the stress in the input rod. The next wave to arrive is a second release, reected from the back of the low impedance rod. This releases the stress in the input bar to zero and separates the striker rod from the input rod, preventing further loading. The step-up pulse is produced when the lower impedance rod strikes rst. A diagram of the process is shown in Fig. 3 - the wave reected from the low-high striker impedance interface is a loading wave, stepping up the stress in the input bar. The wave transmitted through the interface gets trapped within the high impedance rod, ringing back and forth, transmitting out release steps on each rebound. The rst of these releases causes a stepdown in the input bar, and the next reduces the stress to zero and separates the striker. The step-up made the incident pulse duration too long for the apparatus: there would be overlap between the incident and reected pulses. Additionally, it was found that beginning with the low rate caused the transition between rates to occur before yield occurred. For these reasons, only step-down pulses were used in this investigation.

0.25
time

0.2 Gauge Signal / V 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 -0.05 0 40 80 t / s 120 160

FIGURE 2. Wave diagram and example loading pulse for step-down setup, with the high impedance maraging steel bar striking rst. Solid lines are compressive waves, dotted are tensile. The negative signal seen at t 125 s is a reection from the other end of the input bar.

For these experiments, the high impedance material chosen was maraging steel (Z = 39.1 MN m1 s), and the low impedance material chosen was Dural (Z = 13.7 MN m1 s). Each bar was 10 cm long. Four

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ZH

ZL GAUGE

0.25
time

0.2 Gauge Signal / V 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 -0.05 0 40 80 t / s 120 160

FIGURE 3. Wave diagram and loading pulse for stepup setup, with the low impedance Dural bar striking rst. Solid lines are compressive waves, dotted are tensile.

FIGURE 4. Strain-time data for a step-down loaded copper specimen.

repeats were taken of each step-down experiment on each material, where the same striker bar velocity was used in each case. Single-rate experiments using equivalent low and high strain rates were performed as well; in this case, a 20 cm Inconel striker rod was used, with sample thickness and impact velocity varied to produce the required strain rate. Specimens were machined to be 5 mm diameter discs with thicknesses of 2 mm for high strain rate experiments, 4 mm for low strain rate experiments and 3 mm for double pulse.
FIGURE 5. Stress-time data for copper. Curves shown are the average of several experiments. The maximum standard deviation is 10 %, occurring at the yield point on the low-rate curve. The stepped pulse strain-rate averaged 2300 100 s1 , followed by 400 40 s1

RESULTS A typical strain-time plot is shown in Fig. 4. The rates of 2300 s1 and 400 s1 were matched to the single pulse experiments, to allow comparison. For the purposes of comparison between experiments conducted at different rates, given the necessary nite duration of the loading pulse, data is presented as stress vs. time. The results for the copper and iron are shown in Figs 5 and 6.

DISCUSSION A potential point of criticism of this loading regime is that of equilibrium, whereby the sample must be in

stress equilibrium, undergoing uniform deformation, for experimental results to be valid. Non-equilibrium is best diagnosed by comparing front and rear sample stresses using the one-wave and two-wave approaches as detailed by Gray [6]. As these specimens were metals, with high sound speeds, ring-up time is short, and the behaviour of interest, plastic ow, is reliably measurable after equilibrium has been established. The complication of having a step midway in the loading pulse does require the specimen to equilibrate twice. An example

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the chosen strain rates. A possible explanation is that the copper chosen was not oxygen-free, and thus not as ideal as it could have been.

CONCLUSIONS

FIGURE 6. Stress-time data for iron. Curves shown are the average of four experiments with a standard deviation in stress of 15 %, on the yield point of the low-rate curve. The stepped pulse strain-rate averaged 2400 120 s1 , followed by 390 50 s1

The use of a composite striker bar, assembled from appropriately selected materials, produces stepped loading pulses, able to load a SHPB specimen at differing strain rates without signicant unloading. The step-down conguration, whereby the loading rate decreases, produces the least complicated pulse. This loading regime was applied to stock samples of copper and iron, illustrating the history dependences of each to be as expected given their crystal structures. The situation presented by these experiments will be of use to modellers aiming to ensure that their simulations take proper account of rate, history and (in polymers) viscoelastic effects.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank Bob Marrah, Ray Flaxman and Dave Powell for their help in producing the bars and samples. Daniel Drodge and David Williamson thank AWE for their nancial support.

REFERENCES
FIGURE 7. One- and two-wave comparison [6], for step-down experiment on copper. 1. Nemat-Nasser, S., Recovery Hopkinson Bar Techniques, in ASM Handbook - Mechanical Testing and Evaluation, The Materials Information Society, 2000, vol. 8, pp. 477487. 2. Shim, V. P. W., Yuan, J., and Lee, S. H., Experimental Mechanics, 41, 122127 (2000). 3. Chen, W., and Luo, H., Experimental Mechanics, 44, 295299 (2004). 4. Zerelli, F. J., and Armstrong, R. W., J. Appl. Phys, 61, 18161825 (1987). 5. Liang, R., and Khan, A. S., International Journal of Plasticity, 15, 963980 (1999). 6. Gray III, G. T., Classic Split Hopkinson Bar Testing, in ASM Handbook - Mechanical Testing and Evaluation, The Materials Information Society, 2000, vol. 8, pp. 463476.

one-wave vs. two-wave comparison for a steppedpulse experiment is shown in Fig. 7, where it can be seen that periods of equilibrium occur in both the high and low rate regimes. The iron response appears to agree with the predicted BCC behaviour shown in Fig. 1. For copper, however, the result is not as clear. Granted, the graphs are denitely not BCC in character, but similarly no change in work hardening rate can be seen. This effect is apparently not pronounced enough for

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