Our High Strain Rate Testing systems are deployed/distributed worldwide for bleeding edge researchers in material and product development.
High Strain Rate properties matter in design for safety principles applied in transportation as well as design for survivability principles applied in Warfighter protection system developers. REL High Strain Rate Testing (HSRT) Systems can be configured for a variety of strain rate ranges from 100-10,000 s-1, allowing the user to tailor the strain rate obtained during testing to actual in-service operating conditions.
Our Elements, the family of REL HSRT modular accessories, seamlessly integrate with ALL systems to provide precision setups, vital testing capabilities, and targeted test environments. These elements include specimen mounting, data collection, temperature control, and high-intensity Visible Spectrum LED Lighting. This elemental approach in the High Strain Rate Testing equipment creates configurable, rapid turn-around, and precise results for researchers developing constitutive material models. These models capture material energy absorption, material deformation, and visco-elastic material response as a function of strain rate and/or temperature.
How to SHPB
Combined Systems
Combine multiple or enhanced test setups, on the same double-wide Flat Base testing platform, in the same system footprint. This enhanced capability allows for improved testing throughput across your entire lab operation by using simultaneous test setups. It also increases lab space efficiency while allowing for creative HSRT test setups that haven’t been realized yet!
SURE-Pulse: SHPB Data Done Precisely
Gain critical insights with our user-friendly open-source software enabling rapid training of lab personnel to perform precise data analysis of high strain rate testing events. The SURE-Pulse software was developed specifically for HSRT. This software was written by an HSRT researcher for an HSRT researcher. New modules are being constantly developed to accommodate custom testing needs for the high strain rate researcher.
Compression Testing
Capture the fundamental. The baseline for dynamic material property characterization is a controlled impact of bars and specimen with a precisely aligned system to 0.001”/foot. The REL Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar system imparts a known amount of energy to a test specimen in 50-800 microseconds obtaining strain rates from 102 to 104 per second.
Tension Testing
Determine high strain rate material tensile properties to develop the critical high strain rate failure criteria for structural and composite design applications. This method typically will involve the use of a high-speed camera (up to 10Mfps) to perform DIC on the tested sample.
Capture high strain rate torsional shear loading of solid or hollow sample sections with DIC strain analysis. Pure shear properties are important for understanding material failure modes. This module uses a servo motor to precisely load the incident bar to a desired torsional load prior to the sudden release of a shear wave for this type of testing.
Meet exacting energy requirements needed for generating impact and motion transfer events with a wide array of quickly adjustable configurations. REL’s systems can generate tailored impacts from ounces to hundreds of thousands of pounds of force. This system can replace drop towers with more controllable events.
Test for properties of high deformation materials from low to intermediate strain rates using our advanced system that was designed to address gaps in testing that have historically fallen outside the capabilities of most conventional SHPB techniques and test frames setups. With this addition, the full spectrum from quasi-static strain rates (10^-3) to high strain rates (10^4) can be achieved with our systems.
Visible Spectrum LED Lighting
Our Visible Spectrum Lighting is purpose-built for high-intensity, cost-effective, ultra-fast frame rate scientific research cameras. These rugged, high-intensity lights can withstand extreme impact (100g) and extreme temps (-40C to 90C) and run continuously or in super high-intensity burst mode.
Essential Building Blocks
Upgrade your REL High Strain Rate Testing system with our Elements family of modular, quickly configurable, high-tech, and precision machined accessories.
The Flat Base table is a smart, sturdy, purpose-built platform for all our High Strain Rate Testing Systems. The Base allows quick testing setups as the super flat base is flat and aligned within 0.001” per foot.
The system response of the DAQ can capture up to 8 channels of data at 80 million points per second. Advanced triggers and data analysis features allow for unfiltered data to be imported to SURE-Pulse and processed.
Capture the speed of any impact event (up to 3000fps) with the Speed Sensor, allowing researchers to know exact energy at impact. Calibrated to be within (+/- 0.5%) and configurable for different size systems.
