Why Should I Instrument My Impact Tests?

The majority of impact tests have the same goal in mind – establishing the amount of energy it takes to break a material. When conducting an impact test without a sensor on the striker, you limit the information that can be gathered. Since only the weight of the mass and drop height are known, you are merely able to calculate the impact energy. Since the falling weight will either stop dead on the test specimen or destroy it completely in passing through, the only results that can be obtained are of a pass/fail criteria based upon visual determination.


By adding a load-sensing tup, you can continuously record the load on the specimen as a function of time and/or specimen deflection prior to fracture. The best systems record load vs. time or deformation for the entire period of the impact event. This gives a better representation of an impact than a single calculated value. Instrumented drop weight and pendulum testing is considered the best testing method available. By performing multiple tests at various rates, a complete impact profile can be developed for a polymer. This approach can be useful in simulating functional impact resistance and running material comparisons.

There is enough flexibility to simulate real-life conditions and to perform audit inspections on parts or molded samples. By adding instrumentation to

impact tests the all-important energy absorbed value is established much quicker.