The Split-Hopkinson Bar: Techniques, Applications and Methods(Synthesis SEM Handbooks on Experimental Mechanics)

This book provides a concise practical introduction to the split-Hopkinson bar, by giving an overview of both the basic technique and a wide range of topics relevant to its application. The split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) has become the key apparatus for the characterization of the mechanical response of materials at high strain rates.  Systems have been used at rates from approximately 100 to 1,000,000 s-1, to test materials ranging from low modulus elastomers to high strength superalloys.  The power of the system is its suitability, with appropriate practice, to be used on many materials and in conjunction with a wide range of different diagnostic systems. Each chapter provides information and guidance for practitioners to perform high-quality experiments, whilst also introducing the resources required to engage in a deeper exploration of the topic. 

Table of Contents:
Introduction,- Overview.- Historical Development.- Specimen design.- Wave propagation.- Instrumentation.- Soft Materials.- Brittle Materials.- Environmental Conditioning.- Tension and Torsion.- Miniaturisation.- Other Configurations.- Summary.- References.

About the Author :
Clive Siviour is Statutory Professor (Chair) of Materials Engineering in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, UK, where he is also the current Head of Department.  His research concentrates on the properties of materials under high strain rate loading, with particular emphasis on experimental characterization and the development of novel experimental methodologies.  He has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has given invited talks at numerous universities and conferences.  In 2016 he gave the JSA Young Investigator Lecture at the SEM Annual Conference and Exposition, and in 2019 he gave the BSSM Measurements Lecture. Professor Siviour completed his MSc and Ph.D. in the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, where his thesis, High strain rate properties of materials using Hopkinson Bar techniques focused on the experimental characterization of materials under dynamic loads.  He then moved to the University of Oxford, where he was made an Associate Professor in 2008, Full Professor in 2018, and Chair of Materials Engineering in 2024.  He has supervised over 20 Ph.D. students, mainly on topics associated with high strain rate experimental techniques.  Professor Siviour is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.  He has also sat on the Governing board of DYMAT, the European Association for the Promotion of Research into the Dynamic Behaviour of Materials and its Applications.