Numerical study for determination of pulse shaping design variables in SHPB apparatus

High strain rate experimental tests are essential in a development process of materials under strongly dynamic conditions. For such a dynamic loading the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) has been widely used to investigate dynamic behaviour of various materials. It was found that for different materials various shapes of a generated wave are desired. This paper presents a parametric study of Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar in order to find striker’s design variables, which influence the pulse peak shape in the incident bar. With experimental data given it was possible to verify the developed numerical model, which was used for presented investigations. Dynamic numerical simulations were performed using explicit LS-Dyna code with a quasi-optimization process carried out using LS-Opt software in order to find striker’s design variables, which influence the pulse peak shape.