The shock response of a rendered porcine fat

Abstract

Characterization of the shock response of biological materials is required in order to develop an understanding of how such materials behave under high strain-rate loading. In this work, a predominately linear U s-up Hugoniot relationship for a rendered porcine fat has been established using the plate- impact technique. This has been shown to take the form U s=1.58+2.47up (ρ0=0.945 g /cc) and comparison has been made between the dynamic behavior of the adipose material and both 20 wt % ballistic gelatin and water. The adipose material has been shown to behave in likeness with simple polymers such as polyethylene and to strengthen under shock loading, unlike ballistic gelatin, which has been shown to behave hydrodynamically. An experimental design incorporating direct insertion of lateral stress gauges within the rendered fat has given insight into both the behavior of lateral gauges and the lateral stress response of the material under dynamic loading.