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Ing. Václav Rada

2025, Measurement: Sensors, p. 1-7), ISSN 2665-9174

In this contribution, we introduce a control system and instrumentation of the in-house developed dynamic testing device with linear motors suitable for experiments ranging from quasi-static regime up to intermediate strain rates with impact velocities of up to 8 m/s. In the contribution, we demonstrate the temporal resolution of the whole system to perform dynamic experiments with closed-loop control of displacement, velocity, or force within a period of a few milliseconds. Frequency bandwidth and testing capabilities of standard membrane pancake load-cells as well as quartz-based piezoelectric load-cells for impact testing are analysed. The system is combined with high-resolution optical inspection, high-speed photography, or even X-ray imaging. The advantages of the device and instrumentation are demonstrated in a case study revealing its potential.

2023, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 413, p. 1-26), ISSN 1879-2138

The derivation and implementation of an asynchronous direct time integration scheme for domain-decomposed finite element models is presented. To maximize clarity in the description of the proposed asynchronous integration, the scheme is restricted to the linear-elastic stress wave propagation case. The proposed method allows the integration of individual subdomains with independent time steps. There is no requirement for an integer time steps ratio of the interacting domains while maintaining zero interface energy. The subdomains are connected by the condition of the continuity of the acceleration field at the interface. In addition, the a posteriori technique is applied to satisfy the continuity of the displacement and velocity fields. Another important contribution of this paper lies in the description of the implementation — we offer the reader a general description of the implementation of the case of any number of subdomains with any number of constraints between them, while the basics of the algorithm are explained on a single domain pair. The functionality of the asynchronous integrator is verified by solving selected problems and comparing with analytical solutions and experimental measurements obtained using a Split Hopkinson pressure bar setup. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

2023, Advanced Engineering Materials, 25 (24), ISSN 1527-2648

The paper deals with the dynamic penetration of 3D printed panels with auxetic and conventional honeycomb unit cell-based cores. The geometry of the unit cells and their periodic assembly in the resulting lattices were selected to ensure the same relative density and overall weight of the individual sample types. Such a similarity of both specimen types allowed the evaluation of differences between conventional and auxetic lattices in terms of penetration characteristics and deformation energy mitigation properties. Dynamic penetration of the samples was performed using a fully strain-gauge instrumented Open Hopkinson Pressure Bar (OHPB) at three impact velocities resulting in three loading scenarios. All performed experiments were captured by two optical cameras for detailed observation and for tracking of an impactor movement using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The force-penetration depth relation was used to evaluate the elastic and post-yield compression characteristics of the lattices together with their deformation energy mitigation capabilities. The results show that the main differences in the deformation response of lattices consist of lower overall stiffness and effective yielding of the auxetic lattices at higher penetration depth. Numerical simulation using an explicit solver was performed to analyze the deformation mechanism of the individual core types.

2022, Materials Science and Engineering A - Structural Materials: Properties, Microstructure and Processing, 852 (5), ISSN 0921-5093

One of the most promising options for future crashworthiness applications is thin-walled tubes filled with various cellular materials (e.g. metal foam). Of higher interest are the shell-based lattices, which have lately gained popularity due to their superior qualities over strut-based lattices. In this work, we investigate the mechanical response of foam-filled tubes where the tube's core was represented by Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) diamond lattices. Samples made of stainless steel 316L comprising the diamond lattice core, empty tubes, and in-situ TPMS-filled tubes were additively manufactured and mechanically tested under compressive loading. As-fabricated welded tubes and ex-situ TPMS-filled tubes were also analysed and compared. Under the axial loading, the ex-situ and in-situ TPMS-filled tubes showed very similar behaviour. Enhanced energy absorption up to 21% and 44% compared to the sum of empty tubes and the core responses was noted. The energy absorption enhancement of 12% in the case of transversal loading is limited to in-situ TPMS-filled tubes, where the connection between the tube and core prevents the tube's walls from buckling. Computational models with homogenised core were developed and validated based on the experimental data. These straightforward, fast, and accurate computational models can be efficiently used for large-scale real-life applications, e.g. crash and impact.

2022, International Conference on Nonlinear Solid Mechanics, abstract book, International Research Center on Mathematics and Mechanics of Complex Systems), p. 107-107)

Additively manufactured materials represent an advanced type of engineering material allowing for rapid building of parts with complex design. Additively manufactured metallic materials are particularly promising for application in high-tech industry, requiring optimized parts with complex shape and high performance mechanical properties. In this contribution, the cylindrical specimens manufactured from 316L powdered stainless steel built in different orientations to the printing platform are subjected to compression at high strain rates using split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The specimens are subjected to quasi- static and dynamic compression at strain rates ranging from 1500/s to 5000/s. Changes in damage development and failure mode are investigated through combination of high speed optical imaging with data of the SHPB instrumentation. For the testing, the SHPB with high strength aluminum alloy bars, soft copper pulse shapers and two sizes of the striker bar is used. The bars are instrumented with a set of foil strain-gauges. The experiments are observed by stateof-the-art high speed camera with frame rate of approximately 250kfps. The camera is time synchronized with the data acquisition system. Strain localization and changes in failure mode related to the printing orientation and strain rate, particularly occurrence of the fatal macroscopic crack and identification of the corresponding failure strain, are investigated using digital image correlation (DIC). It is found out that the failure mode changes dramatically with the increasing strain rate resulting in sudden and complete failure of the specimen during high strain rate compression. The failure is dependent on both the printing orientation and the strain rate.

2022, International Conference on Nonlinear Solid Mechanics, abstract book, International Research Center on Mathematics and Mechanics of Complex Systems), p. 104-104)

The mechanical response of sandwich panels tailored to specific applications investigated becomes an extensively topic for research teams. Sandwich panels typically consist of a lightweight core (porous materials, meta-materials structures) and covering shell (solid or composite layer). These materials can be used as, e.g., the main component of crumple zones in vehicles or low-velocity protection in many applications, due to their high specific energy absorption and low density. An unique loading mode in dynamic mechanical testing is a dynamic indentation where combining multi-directional stress distribution in sandwich panels is not an easy task for description. The main aim of this work is to compare sandwich panels with two different types of core (3D inverted honeycomb and conventional honeycomb structures with similar specific densities). Based material of the aforementioned cores is photopolymer resin which allows the manufacturing of complex shapes of cores by stereolithography technology. All specimens, equipped with a spreading thin layer of polyethylene shell, are subjected to dynamic penetration to evaluate the mechanical behavior, penetration resistance, and energy-absorbing capability at different impact velocities. An in-house developed direct impact Hopkinson bar is used for dynamic indentation experiments. The loading apparatus is equipped with strain gauges and the measured signals are used for the calculation of an applied force and impact velocity. A pair of highspeed cameras are used for optical inspection of the experiments. A targeted camera is used for evaluating the velocity of the projectile using the digital image correlation method (DIC) for comparison with strain-gauge measurement, and an overview camera is used for capturing the surroundings of the impact plane.

2022, Dynamic Behaviour of Additively Manufactured Structures & Materials, Freiburg im Breisgau, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), p. 103-110)

Open Hopkinson Pressure Bar (OHPB) appa- ratus is used, together with conventional split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), for dynamic testing of additively manufactured cellular me- tamaterials at intermediate and high strain rates. Benefits of the OHPB testing method over standard established methods are dis- cussed. The investigated metamaterials in- clude various types of auxetic lattices manu- factured from powdered austenitic steel by powder bed fusion technology. It is found out that the investigated type of metamate- rials exhibits significant strain rate sensitivity of the stress-strain curves as well as of the apparent auxeticity. Moreover, its deforma- tion mechanism changes with the increasing impact velocity as the buckling of the individ- ual struts is reduced by the inertia effects.

2022, Materials, 15 (3), ISSN 1996-1944

The main aim of the study was to analyse the strain rate sensitivity of the compressive deformation response in bulk 3D-printed samples from 316L stainless steel according to the printing orientation. The laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) method of metal additive manufacturing was utilised for the production of the samples with three different printing orientations: 0◦, 45◦, and 90◦. The specimens were experimentally investigated during uni-axial quasi-static and dynamic loading. A split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatus was used for the dynamic experiments. The experiments were observed using a high-resolution (quasi-static loading) or a high-speed visible-light camera and a high-speed thermographic camera (dynamic loading) to allow for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the deformation processes. Digital image correlation (DIC) software was used for the evaluation of displacement fields. To assess the deformation behaviour of the 3D-printed bulk samples and strain rate related properties, an analysis of the true stress–true strain diagrams from quasi-static and dynamic experiments as well as the thermograms captured during the dynamic loading was performed. The results revealed a strong strain rate effect on the mechanical response of the investigated material. Furthermore, a dependency of the strain-rate sensitivity on the printing orientation was identified.

2021, Metals — Open Access Metallurgy Journal, 11 (8), ISSN 2075-4701

Compressive deformation behaviour of additively manufactured lattice structures based on re-entrant tetrakaidecahedral unit-cell geometry were experimentally investigated under quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Specimens of four different structures formed by three-dimensional periodical assembly of selected unit-cells were produced by a laser powder bed fusion technique from a powdered austenitic stainless steel SS316L. Quasi-static compression as well as dynamic tests using split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatus at two strain-rates were conducted to evaluate the expected strain-rate sensitivity of the fundamental mechanical response of the structures. To evaluate the experiments, particularly the displacement fields of the deforming lattices, optical observation of the specimens using a high-resolution camera (quasi-static loading) and two synchronised high-speed cameras (SHPB experiments) was employed. An in-house digital image correlation algorithm was used in order to evaluate the anticipated auxetic nature of the investigated lattices. It was found that neither of the investigated structures exhibited auxetic behaviour although strain-rate sensitivity of the stress–strain characteristics was clearly identified for the majority of structures.

2021, Metals — Open Access Metallurgy Journal, 11 (1), ISSN 2075-4701

The mechanical behaviour of three different auxetic cellular structures, hexa-chiral 2D, tetra-chiral 2D and tetra-chiral 3D, was experimentally investigated in this study. The structures were produced with the powder bed fusion method (PBF) from an austenitic stainless steel alloy. The fundamental material mechanical properties of the sample structures were determined with classic quasi-static compressive tests, where the deformation process was captured by a high-resolution digital camera. The Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) apparatus was used for dynamic impact testing at two impact velocities to study the strain-rate dependency of the structures. Two synchronised high-speed cameras were used to observe the impact tests. The captured images from both quasi-static and dynamic experiments were processed using a custom digital image correlation (DIC) algorithm to evaluate the displacement/strain fields and the Poisson’s ratio. Predominant auxetic behaviour was observed in all three structures throughout most of the deformation process both under quasi-static and impact loading regimes. The tetra-chiral 2D structure showed the most significant auxetic behaviour. Significant stress enhancement in all tested structures was observed in dynamic testing. The Poisson’s ratio strain-rate dependency was confirmed for all three auxetic structures.

2021, International Journal of Impact Engineering, 148, ISSN 0734-743X

Direct impact testing with a Hopkinson bar is, nowadays, a very popular experimental technique for investigating the behavior of cellular materials, e.g., lattice metamaterials, at high strain-rates as it overcomes several limitations of the conventional Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). However, standard direct impact Hopkinson bars (DIHB) have only single-sided instrumentation complicating the analysis. In this paper, a DIHB apparatus instrumented with conventional strain-gauges on both bars (a so called Open Hopkinson Pressure Bar - OHPB) is used for dynamic impact experiments of cellular materials. Digital image correlation (DIC) is used as a tool for investigating the displacements and velocities at the faces of the bars. A straight-forward wave separation technique combining the data from the strain-gauges with the DIC is adopted to increase the experiment time window multiple times. The experimental method is successfully tested at impact velocities in a range of 5-30 m/s with both linear elastic and visco-elastic bars of a medium diameter. It is shown that, under certain circumstances, a simple linear elastic model is sufficient for the evaluation of the measurements with the visco-elastic bars, while no additional attenuation and phase-shift corrections are necessary. The applicability of the experimental method is demonstrated on various experiments with conventional metal foams, hybrid foams, and additively manufactured auxetic lattices subjected to dynamic compression.

2018, 16th Youth Symposium On Experimental Solid Mechanics, Praha, Česká technika - nakladatelství ČVUT, ČVUT v Praze), p. 15-19), ISBN 978-80-01-06474-0, ISSN 2336-5382

In recent years, open-source applications have replaced proprietary software in many fields. Especially open-source software tools based on Linux operating system have wide range of utilization. In terms of CNC solutions, an open-source system LinuxCNC can be used. However, the LinuxCNC control software and the graphical user interface (GUI) could be developed only on top of Hardware Abstraction Layer. Nevertheless, the LinuxCNC community provided Python Interface, which allows for controlling CNC machine using Python programming language, therefore whole control software can be developed in Python. The paper focuses on a development of a multi-process control software mainly for in-house developed loading devices operated at our institute. The software tool is based on the LinuxCNC Python Interface and Qt framework, which gives the software an ability to be modular and effectively adapted for various devices.