Impact-force source and impact-force calibrator

A pendulum-force transducer called an impact-force source has been developed which can serve two purposes. The impact-force source can be used to accurately calibrate other force transducers dynamically and can also be used to supply a known and repeatable impact half-sine-type force for impact studies. The magnitude and duration of the impact force produced by the impact-force source can be varied by changing certain physical parameters of the force source. A simple design procedure was developed to determine the values of the parameters of the force source. Experiments were conducted to test the limitations of the impact-force source in its use as a dynamic-force calibrator and as a known source of impact force. The results of these experiments indicate that the force source could be a useful laboratory instrumentation tool.