Influences of Stress Wave Propagation upon Studying Dynamic Response of Materials at High Strain Rates

How the wave propagation analysis plays a key role in the studies of dynamic response of materials at high strain rates is analyzed. For the wave propagation technique, the followings are important: the loading and unloading constitutive relation presumed, the positions of the sensors embedded, the interactions between loading waves and unloading waves. For the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) technique, the assumption of one-dimensional stress wave propagation and the assumption of stress uniformity along the specimen should be satisfied. When the larger diameter bars are employed, the wave dispersion effects should be considered, including the high frequency oscillations, non-uniform stress distribution across the bar section, increase of rise time, and amplitude attenuation. The stress uniformity along the specimen is influenced by the reflection times in specimen, the wave impedance ratio of the specimen and the bar, and the waveform.