Dynasen's "Hands-On" course on stress wave measurements is a 3-day personalized and practical seminar which we offer to experimenters interested at learning or at improving their skills on the use of thin film stress sensors, with emphasis placed upon the measurements of non-planar shock waves. This course comprises 1) a review of fundamental shock wave definitions and concepts using simple mathematical formulations and 2) the performance by the participants (Hands-On) under our guidance of shock wave experiments using stress/strain gauge combinations and our fully-instrumented 21/2 Inch gas gun facility. Indeed, this seminar represents a unique opportunity to those interested in this subject. It permits the participants to 1) learn at first-hand on the methods we have developed here at Dynasen over several years to measure non-planar waves using combined thin film stress/strain sensors 2) gather valuable experience in designing tests and in performing actual measurements and 3) provide an avenue to contribute to a very important but to-often neglected field of shock physics by suggesting new experiments ,thus advancing the state-of-the-art and permitting one to publish on the subject. This seminar has been designed to provide its participants with maximum flexibility in its coverage so they can optimize their learning and investment. The material which we propose (but not limited to) to include in this course is as follows.

A- Review of fundamental concepts and definitions of shock waves, stressing on physical meanings and simple phenomenological representations and those quantities which are typically measured in experimentation. Types of stress fields generated by impacts of solids.

B- Construction of commercially produced thin film stress and strain sensors, principles of operation, limitations imposed by shock effects, calibrations and recording principles.

C- Mounting of gauges in test assemblies. Description and functioning of excitation sources. Effects of cabling on signals. Inclusion effects on stress and strain fields.

D- Combined effects of stresses and strains on thin film sensors. The use of a constantan strain gauge to infer strain on a given stress gauge and use of simple modeling to correct for its effect on the output of the stress gauge. Dynasen’s past work on all types of thin film sensors.

E- Types of gas gun tests that can be readily conducted to produce controlled planar and non-planar waves effects on thin film sensors, using well known solids such as PMMA. A review of impact stress/strain scenarios that can be produced with Dynasen gas gun.

Upon arrival at Dynasen, the participants will be provided with a set of notes covering the materials presented during the course. At its conclusion, they also will be provided with hard copies of gauge outputs generated by the tests performed along with data stored on computer discs. This course is offered at a fixed price for attendance by two participants maximum and the performance a total of three impact tests for the period. The maximum velocity for our gun is 0.5mm / microsecond. Our digital recording capability comprises 8 channels of 500Mhz, 4 channels of 350 Mhz. Data can be directly printed out from scope memories or transferred to our computer system for further analysis. A standard test comprises a total of four stress or strain gauges of any combination chosen by the participants. The target's maximum diameter is 4 Inches, remembering that the flyer maximum diameter is 2 1/4 Inches. The number of thin film sensors can be increased to 8 per target with an additional fee charged per gauge. This course can be extended to 4 or 5 days for an fee per day. Final design of the gas gun test arrangements anticipated should be provided by FAX, email or mail to Dynasen two weeks before the seminar to allow sufficient time for targets and projectile preparations. Contact Dynasen for current pricing or download the course data sheet.

Contact Dynasen for more information concerning the cost and scheduling for this course. Courses are conviently scheduled in coordination with both the customers request and open periods of gas gun operation.