On loading velocity oscillations during dynamic tensile testing with flying wheel systems

Abstract

Flying Wheels (FW) provide a space-saving alternative to Split Hopkinson Bar (SHB) systems for generating the loading pulse for intermediate and high strain rate material testing. This is particularly attractive in view of performing ductile fracture experiments at intermediate strain rates that require a several milliseconds long loading pulse. More than 50 m long Hopkinson bars are required in that case, whereas the same kinetic energy (for a given loading velocity) can be stored in rather compact flying wheels (e.g. diameter of less than 1.5 m). To gain more insight into the loading capabilities of FW tensile testing systems, a simple analytical model is presented to analyze the loading history applied by a FW system. It is found that due to the presence of a puller bar that transmits the tensile load from the rotating wheel to the specimen, the loading velocity applied onto the specimen oscillates between about zero and twice the tangential loading speed applied by the FW. The theoretical and numerical evaluation for a specific 1.1 m diameter FW system revealed that these oscillations occur at a frequency in the kHz range, thereby questioning the approximate engineering assumption of a constant strain rate in FW tensile experiments at strain rates of the order of 100/s.