Author(s)

Yukio Fujimoto^*, Chen Liu, Yoshikazu Tanaka, Eiji Shintaku, Toshiki Nakanishi

Department of Transportation and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.

In the impact tests of soft materials, we sometimes observe a thorn shape in the rising segment of the impact force waveform. However, the reason for the occurrence of the thorn shape has not been made clear. In this study, thorn-shape waveforms of several soft materials are measured using compact drop test equipment under the condition of a flat frontal impact. A flat frontal impact is the condition where a drop hammer with a flat bottom surface strikes a plate-like soft material in the normal direction. Synchronized impact forces are measured using two sensors installed on both the drop hammer side and the floor side. The examined soft materials are a sponge sheet, sponge rubber sheet, gel sheet, rubber sheet, flat oil clay, low-rebound urethane foam, cork sheet, sliced ham, pork ham steak, and pork. Based on the test results, the features of the thorn-shape waveforms are discussed from a bird’s-eye view. Furthermore, the occurrence mechanism of the thorn-shape waveforms is discussed from the viewpoint of viscosity discontinuity and the double-strike phenomenon.

Impact Force, Thorn-Shape Waveform, Soft Material, Drop Hammer, Viscosity Discontinuity, Strain Rate Dependence, Double-Strike Phenomenon

Fujimoto, Y. , Liu, C. , Tanaka, Y. , Shintaku, E. and Nakanishi, T. (2015) Thorn-Shape Waveform and Double-Strike Phenomenon Seen in the Impact Force of Soft Materials. World Journal of Mechanics, 5, 59-69. doi: 10.4236/wjm.2015.54007.