Hopkinson Bar Loaded Fracture Experimental Technique: A Critical Review of Dynamic Fracture Toughness Tests

Hopkinson bar experimental techniques have been extensively employed to investigate the mechanical response and fracture behavior of engineering materials under high rate loading. Among these applications, the study of the dynamic fracture behavior of materials at stress-wave loading conditions (corresponding stress-intensity factor rate ∼106 MPam/s) has been an active research area in recent years. Various Hopkinson bar loading configurations and corresponding experimental methods have been proposed to date for measuring dynamic fracture toughness and investigating fracture mechanisms of engineering materials. In this paper, advances in Hopkinson bar loaded dynamic fracture techniques over the past 30 years, focused on dynamic fracture toughness measurement, are presented. Various aspects of Hopkinson bar fracture testing are reviewed, including (a) the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of loading systems and sample configurations; (b) a discussion of operating principles for determining dynamic load and sample displacement in different loading configurations; (c) a comparison of various methods used for determining dynamic fracture parameters (load, displacement, fracture time, and fracture toughness), such as theoretical formula, optical gauges, and strain gauges; and (d) an update of modeling and simulation of loading configurations. Fundamental issues associated with stress-wave loading, such as stress-wave propagation along the elastic bars and in the sample, stress-state equilibrium validation, incident pulse-shaping effect, and the “loss-of-contact” phenomenon are also addressed in this review.