Application of the Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) technique in tension-torsion Hopkinson bar experiments

The Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) technique is used to capture simultaneously propagating elastic waves of longitudinal and shear nature in a Tension-Torsion Hopkinson Bar (TTHB) apparatus. The system uses a pair of probes per velocity measurement, which were taken on the opposite sides of the TTHB bar with a laser irradiated spot size of ~35 µm. The collected data were compared to the measurements obtained from the conventional strain gauge technique, and were in good agreement. The PDV method was effective in separating longitudinal and rotation signals even when they were superimposed on each other at the gauge location. This approach is also shown to be effective in detecting and accounting for the presence of bending waves in the TTHB bars.