In a Tensile SHPB, the incident loading wave is tensile. At BISRU, this is achieved by a tubular striker that is pulled back over the input bar and impacting against a transfer flange, as opposed to the compressive SHPB where the striker is fired towards the input bar. The tensile loading is transferred to the specimen by means of a tapered, profiled collet which positively engages with a lobed profile cut into a miniaturised tensile specimen cut from sheet metal.
The tensile SHPB at BISRU are 19mm diameter aluminium, which has been used to test a variety of specimens from DOMEX355MC steel to Titanium 6Al-4V alloy (UTS circa 1200 MPa).
