ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces commonly used equipment, such as the Split Hopkinson Pressure and Tension Bar systems, which can be used for characterising materials subjected to high strain-rate loading. A change in loading rate can substantially alter mechanical properties such as stiffness, strength and failure behaviour. The chapter outlines studies of bone materials and describes investigations into soft tissues. Special considerations are given to testing biological tissues. The readiness of a military combat unit could be substantially affected when the number of troops is reduced due to injuries, which most often occur during combat missions. With the increasing use of finite element (FE) models to simulate impact responses to dynamic loading, there is a need for accurate material constitutive models. Creation of such models necessitates identification of associated material properties to describe rate dependencies of biological tissues. High strain-rate characterisation of soft tissues can be conducted with techniques similar to those used in the testing of trabecular bone.
