Modeling Incipient Fragmentation of Neem Wood Plates Under Low-Speed Impact
摘要
As an impact-resistant fibrous material, wood exhibits both indentation with fiber compaction and splitting when loaded perpendicular to fibers. Under low-speed impact (LSI) parallel to fibers extensive cracking causing fragmentation also becomes a possibility as explored here. This paper highlights incipient fragmentation (IF) in Neem wood—a common Indian species (Melia dubia) based on drop weight test data following ASTM D7136 with 25 mm diameter, 22 kg steel tup. The transition from tup rebound towards penetration with increasing drop height is modeled through theory and numerical simulation to examine the utility of nonlinear dynamic concepts for characterizing rebound to penetration transition (RPT) which also includes IF. A theoretical formulation introducing a novel pair of fragmentation parameters into the Hertzian impact mechanics is consistent with experimental results and numerical simulation.