Revolutionary Materials Research Technology for High-Strain-Rate Ordnance Research

The development of aerospace technology is in part limited by the development and implementation of advanced materials. The challenge is to accelerate the maturation and insertion times of advanced materials to support the delivery of technically advanced systems. The precise modeling of these advanced materials and structures is only possible with accurate measurements of their real dynamic response. High-strain-rate testing of these advanced materials is limited by existing methods. Non-contact, high-speed, optical strain measurement looks to broadly extend the capabilities of the split-Hopkinson bar high-strain-rate test method, currently applicable for homogeneous, ductile materials, to be valid for the study of advanced brittle and composite materials. This capability will offer broad abilities to measure the high-strain-rate material properties at the sample, rather than inferring these properties from remote gages, reducing the limitations on materials, geometries and environments, producing better material data for the advancement of aerospace and ordinance technologies. Modern ordinace systems are operating at higher temperatures and using brittle and composite materials. This work is corner stone to the further development of these advanced materials.