Kolsky Compression Bar Experiments at High/Low Temperatures

When the specimen temperature differs from the room temperature, timing of mechanical load becomes a variable due to heat conduction. There are two approaches to conduct experiments with the specimens heated or cooled. One is to heat/cool the specimen with the bars attached. The other is to bring the bars in contact with the specimen after it reaches a desired temperature. The latter is preferred particularly at very high temperatures since temperature gradient in the bars affects wave propagation, which must be corrected. This chapter describes methods for high/low temperature Kolsky-bar experiments. The design of a computer- controlled automated system for high temperature experiments is presented. Examples are given with specimen materials including a stainless steel, a shape memory alloy, a syntactic epoxy foam, and PMDI foams with different densities.