High-speed photographic study of wave propagation and impact damage in fused silica and AlON using the edge-on impact (EOI) method

An Edge-on Impact (EOI) technique, developed at the Ernst-Mach-Institute (EMI), coupled with a Cranz-Schardin high-speed camera, has been successfully utilized to visualize dynamic fracture in many brittle materials. In a typical test, the projectile strikes one edge of a specimen and damage formation and fracture propagation is recorded during the first 20 s after impact. In the present study, stress waves and damage propagation in fused silica and AlON were examined by means of two modified Edge-on Impact arrangements. In one arrangement, fracture propagation was observed simultaneously in side and top views of the specimens by means of two Cranz-Schardin cameras. In another arrangement, the photographic technique was modified by placing the specimen between crossed polarizers and using the photo-elastic effect to visualize the stress waves. Pairs of impact tests at approximately equivalent velocities were carried out in transmitted plane (shadowgraphs) and crossed po larized light.