A technique for obtaining compressive strength at high strain rates using short load cells

A technique for obtaining stress-strain data at high strain rates is given. The method involves use of a short load cell and a fibre optics displacement transducer. Computer aided analysis of the force-time data allows correction of the signal for the effect of the dynamic characteristic of the force measurement system. The method involves transformation to the frequency domain of the force data by means of a Fast Fourier Transform algorithm, and is shown to be able to make effective corrections for the dynamic ringing of the load cell and the phase lag of the recording system. The compression mode of deformation is used, lubrication being effected by means of a Teflon film. The results of preliminary tests performed on a medium carbon resulphurised steel are given.