Wave propagation in ballistic gelatine.

Wave propagation characteristics in long cylindrical specimens of ballistic gelatine have been investigated using a high speed digital camera and hyper elastic constitutive models. The induced transient deformation is modelled with strain rate dependent Mooney-Rivlin parameters which are determined by modelling the stress-strain response of gelatine at a range of strain rates. The varying velocity of wave propagation through the gelatine cylinder is derived as a function of prestress or stretch in the gelatine specimen. A finite element analysis is conducted using the above constitutive model by suitably defining the impulse imparted by the polymer bar into the gelatine specimen. The model results are found to capture the experimentally observed wave propagation characteristics in gelatine effectively.