Loading and unloading split Hopkinson pressure bar pulse-shaping techniques for dynamic hysteretic loops

Pulse-shaping techniques are developed for both the loading and unloading paths of a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) experiment to obtain valid dynamic stress-strain loops for engineering materials. Front and rear pulse-shapers, in association with a momentum trap, are used to precisely control the profiles of the loading and unloading portions of the incident pulse. The modifications ensure that the specimen deforms at the same constant strain rate under dynamic stress equilibrium during both loading and unloading stages of an experiment so that dynamic stress-strain loops can be accurately determined. Dynamic stress-strain loops with a constant strain rate for a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy and polymethyl methacrylate are determined using the modified SHPB. The modified momentum trap prevents repeated loading on a specimen without affecting the amplitude of the desired loading pulse and without damaging the bar at high stress levels.