Time-resolved spectroscopic characterization of ballistic impact events in polymer and nanocomposite materials

A detailed understanding of how materials respond to ballistic shock-loading is critical for the design and development of new protective materials. However, the nonlinear viscoelastic deformation present in polymers and nanocomposites during and immediately following a ballistic impact event is not currently well understood. The dynamic mechanical responses of materials experiencing ballistic shock-loading conditions are quite complex, with large amplitude compressions resulting in strain rates in excess of 106 s-1 and pressures exceeding several GPa. Historically, if one wants to study materials under ballistic shock loading conditions, a gas gun apparatus is necessary to generate appropriate high strain rate events. However, advances in high power ultra-fast laser amplifier systems have opened the possibility of optically generating ballistic shocks which are comparable to a shock wave generated by gas gun apparatus. Time-resolved mechanical property information, such as elastic modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson's ratio are measured using impulsive stimulated thermal scattering, a laser-based photoacoustic technique.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Saini, Gagan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Keith A. Nelson.

• Materials Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37681

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37681