Activity 2 Tasks on Impact Energy, Conservation of Momentum and Energy of Absorption

(70 minutes = 60 minutes action + 10 minutes presentation/discussion/reflection)

As a toy engineer, you are tasked to design a rubber ball that would bounce very well. Intuitively,
you hunt down several rubber-based materials and begin stretching them. You sense that the one
with the best elasticity would be the most ideal material to be used. However, as you would have
been taught in EG1111, that just by feeling would not lead to a good engineering judgement. You
then decide to plot the forcedisplacement relationship by performing a stretch test. You first
stretch the rubber using a test rig, and then relax it to the point that it is completely stress-free. You
plot the following graphs for the rubbers:
Force
Force

Force

Rubber 1

Displacement

Rubber 2

Rubber 3

Displacement

Displacement

Figure 1: Forcedisplacement response of three types of rubbers

Which rubber do you think would provide the best bounce? Why?
We now test a rubber ball on a drop-test rig. You are to drop a rubber ball through 30cm on the rig.
Obviously, the rubber ball will bounce back up. During impact, the rubber ball is deformed, and then
relaxed as it bounces back up. This is reminiscent of the plots in Fig. 1 above. Do the following:

Take videos of the ball as it drops, so that you may use the video evidence to find out how
much the ball bounces back up.

Capture at least five repetitions for each ball.

Compute the amount of energy lost after the first bounce.

How is this energy loss related to the size of the loops above?

What other sources of losses may be present during the drop and then after the first impact?

Compute the coefficient of restitution of the impact. How is the coefficient of restitution
related to the energy loss on impact?

Repeat the same experiment on a metal ball.

Figure 2: Drop test on balls made of different materials.

A ballistic engineer is involved in the design of anti-tank missiles, capable of destroying heavily
armoured tanks. You are a ballistic engineer tasked to design a missile that would penetrate a tank
made of aluminium that is 60cm thick. You decide to do a stress-strain test 1 on an aluminium
sample. The result is as follows:

Figure 3: Stress-strain plot of aluminium sample.

From your drop test, you have computed the amount of energy lost on impact by the metal ball on
the aluminium plate. The aluminium plate takes on the same stress-strain curve as above.

1
2

From Fig. 3, what stress do you think the metal ball has imparted to the plate? 2 Express it in
terms of MPa (1 MPa = 106 Pa).

Estimate the amount of energy absorbed by the aluminium plate due to the impact.

Google stress-strain test if you do not know what that is.

Hint: Inspect the aluminium plate, has it been damaged due to the impact?

Knowing the definition of stress as Force/Cross-sectional Area of the cylinder, and strain as
Deformation/Original length of the cylinder, the area bounded under the curve in Fig. 3
hence takes on the form of Force*Deformation/Area*Original Length. Explain the
significance of the numerator (Force*Deformation) and the significance of the denominator
(Area*Original Length). What units does the area bounded under the curve take on?

Given that the area under the curve is E, what is the significance of the value of E?
Approximately how much energy is needed to completely fail an aluminium plate of volume
500 cm3?

Integrating the curve under Fig. 3 would give an area of 50 x 106 (in standard SI units).

Using the law of conservation of energy, consider an appropriate control volume, write a
relationship between the kinetic energy loss during impact, and the strain (deformation)
energy absorbed by the plate during the impact.

Based on your calculations above, does it agree with the observed damage on the plate?
Why and why not?

The ball comes into impact with the aluminium plate at a velocity of uo. Assume that this
velocity is very large, so that the ball penetrates the plate and continues to travel at this
same velocity after penetrating into the plate. Based on conservation of momentum only,
write the expected depth of penetration d in terms of the diameter D of the ball and the
densities of the ball and the plate. We may further assume that the ball maintains the same
velocity uo throughout the entire penetration journey, before coming to an abrupt stop once
all momentum is transferred to the plate. We could also assume that the plate is much
more massive than the ball, so that it does not move due to the impact. You are free to
make any other reasonable assumptions.

Have you figured out the significance of E above? If yes, you would have known that the
amount of energy to fail a material per unit volume is given as E. Now, use the conservation
of energy to write an equation for the expected penetration depth d, if the velocity at
impact is uo. State all your assumptions.

What should the size and velocity of the ball be in order to penetrate an aluminium plate of
60cm thickness? Assuming very large impact velocity, is the size of your ball sufficient to
penetrate the plate used in your experiment? What velocity should it travel to penetrate
the plate used in your experiment?

Is the shape of a ball the most optimal shape for a missile? Why or why not?

Provide some suggestions on how a ballistic engineer should design a missile.