• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.857-869
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• 2015

The aluminum 7075-T6 is known as an alloy widely used in aircraft structural applications, which does not exhibit strain rate sensitivity during dynamic compressive tests. Despite mechanical importance of the material, there is not enough attention to determine appropriate sample dimensions such as a sample diameter relative to the device bar diameter and sample length to diameter (L/D) ratio for dynamic tests and how these two parameters can change mechanical behaviors of the sample under dynamic loading condition. In this study, various samples which have different diameters of 31.8, 25.4, 15.9, and 9.5 mm and sample L/D ratios of 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25 were tested using Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), as this testing device is proper to characterize mechanical behaviors of solid materials at high strain rates. The mechanical behavior of this alloy was examined under ${\sim}200-5,500s^{-1}$ dynamic strain rate. Aluminum samples of 2.0, 1.5 and 1.0 of L/D ratios were well fitted into the stress-strain curve, Madison and Green's diagram, regardless of the sample diameters. Also, the 0.5 and 0.25 L/D ratio samples having the diameter of 31.8 and 25.4 mm followed the stress-strain curve. As results, larger samples (31.8 and 25.4 mm) in diameters followed the stress-strain curve regardless of the L/D ratios, whereas the 0.5 and 0.25 L/D ratios of small diameter sample (15.9 and 9.5 mm) did not follow the stress-strain diagram but significantly deviate from the diagram. Our results indicate that the L/D ratio is important determinant in stress-strain responses under the SHPB test when the sample diameter is small relative to the test bar diameter (31.8 mm), but when sample diameter is close to the bar diameter, L/D ratio does not significantly affect the stress-strain responses. This suggests that the areal mismatch (non-contact area of the testing bar) between the sample and the bar can misrepresent mechanical behaviors of the aluminum 7075-T6 at the dynamic loading condition.