An Innovative Procedure for Estimating Contact Force During Impact

Abstract

Certain types of damage generated by the impact of a solid object are correlated with the amount of force that is localized around the area of contact between the impactor and the surface of the target. The stiffer the impactor, the higher the contact force when the amount of impulse delivered by the impact is held constant. Thus, realistic simulations of the contact force by finite element analysis (FEA) require representative, and detailed, information of the dynamic compressive properties of both the impactor and the target. In situations where relevant properties of the impactor material have not been documented, the estimation of contact force is filled with uncertainties. In addressing this challenge an innovative experimental-simulation calibration procedure involving the use of a custom made (inexpensive) tubular device is presented in this paper for measuring the dynamic compressive stiffness properties of impactor objects. Given the calibrated values the amount of contact force generated by the same impactor material in projected scenarios could be simulated with good accuracies for predicting damage.