Uniaxial Compression Tests At Varying Strain Rates On Three Geologic Materials

Little data exists on the high strain rate behavior of geologic materials. Uniaxial stress tests by Kumar1 and by Serdengecti and Boozer2 present some results to strain rates in the range 10 to 103 per sec. The two references cited are the only ones the authors found for high strain rates. Techniques for experiments at high strain rates are not well developed and, in general, leave questions with respect to interpretation of data when the material behaves in a brittle manner. The most reliable data at very high strain rates (104 to 106 per sec) are found in some recent flat-plate work3-5 where experimenters have impacted one plate into another, thereby creating a uniaxial strain loading. The standard uniaxial stress-strain curves cannot be obtained directly from these tests; however, yield (or fracture) may be studied by measuring the "elastic" wave magnitude. These data then may be compared to uniaxial stress data by resorting to some preassumed yield/fracture criteria. Even with the most liberal interpretation of existing data, little can be said of the effects of high strain rate on stiffness, yield/fracture, and post-fracture behavior of geologic materials. It is the purpose of this work to begin to add to the understanding. The data presented here are intended to provide material information for use in calculating the response of geologic materials to high rate deformations. These data can be applied directly to determine parameters such as the elastic modulus and Poisson ratio as a function of stress. Furthermore, these data can be used to derive an understanding of yield/fracture and the effect of rate on the yield/fracture surface. The work presented is a first step, and is