A study of the fracture behavior of ballistic gelatin based on wire-cutting tests

Abstract

The present study explores fracture properties of ballistic gelatin at different loading rates. Wire-cutting fracture tests were undertaken, and a new analysis method was proposed, in order to delineate the fracture force from the total cutting force. The new method was proved to be effective in obtaining the fracture toughness of ballistic gelatin at different cutting rates. It was found that the fracture toughness of 10% ballistic gelatin at 4°C increases almost linearly from 3.1 N/m at a cracking velocity of 10 mm/min to 19.4 N/m at 200 mm/min.