On a bidirectional bending Hopkinson tension test method

Abstract

In order to achieve bidirectional high strain rate dynamic tension of materials or structures, based on the elastic stress wave propagation theory in bending bars and the principle of the Hopkinson bar, a symmetrical herringbone bending bar was designed. The designed structure can generate and transmit two compression waves at the same time, and convert them into two-way tension waves propagating along the tension bar through the contact adapters. In order to understand the influence of the herringbone bending bar geometric configuration on the propagation of elastic compression waves, the dynamic analysis and ABAQUS finite element analysis (FEA) were carried out for the device. The study shows that after the square compression elastic wave propagates through the bending bar, the platform section of the square wave will incline in high front and low back, and as the bending angle increases, the slope is larger, and the waveform distortion caused by the large curvature rod is more serious. In order to realize the platform segment of the square wave or trapezoidal wave, the tapered impact bar is optimized so that it can be used to generate load waves with low front and high back to offset the tilt distortion in the transmission. In the end, to verify the feasibility and effect of the bidirectional dynamic tensile loading device based on the bidirectional bending Hopkinson bar, a small verification device was built. The results show that the device realized bidirectional tension loading for the pulse width of about 54 μs with good synchronization, the time difference between the starting point of the two waves was less than 2.5 μs, and the amplitude difference was less than 6×10−6. The bidirectional tensile test was carried out on the 2024 aluminum alloy samples, and the good test results were obtained. This confirms that the proposed method can be used for bidirectional dynamic tension and lays the foundation for the expansion of the device to biaxial tensile loading.