Dropweight sample tester

Claim 1

Apparatus for determining the energy absorbed by an elongated test-piece of material during fracture thereof, comprising: support means for supporting the test-piece during fracture including anvil means at either end of the test-piece; a dropweight, vertical guide means for the dropweight, means for raising the dropweight along the guide means, and means for releasing the dropweight from a raised position directly above the test-piece to undergo substantial free-fall vertically after release, and means for measuring a determining characteristic of the motion of the dropweight after the test-piece has been fractured, the latter means including two retro-reflective areas affixed in vertically separated relation on the dropweight, a photoelectric beam projecting such that the retro-reflective areas pass sequentially into said beam, light-detecting means for sensing light reflected from said areas and for generating two time-separated electrical signals as the two areas pass sequentially into the beam, and electronic period-counter means to measure the time elapsing between the two electrical signals, the dropweight being an integral mass of metal shaped to define tow downwardly extending, laterally spaced-apart arms joined integrally together at the top thereby providing an internal slot extending upward from the bottom, the said guide means maintaining the dropweight in an orientation such that the test-piece is aligned with said internal slot, the dropweight including a striker bar supported horizontally across and at right-angles to said slot and said test-piece, whereby the striker bar contacts the test-piece substantially mid-way of each so that the fractured separated ends of the test-piece can pivot inwardly and into the slot above the striker bar, thus avoiding interference with the further downward free-fall of the dropweight. and means directly beneath the initial test-piece location for catching and decelerating the dropweight after fracture of the test-piece.