The study of the high strain rate mechanical behaviour of materials using micropillar compression tests has been hindered so far due to the lack of suitable instrumentation. In the present study, a novel high strain rate micropillar compression set-up is introduced. The high speed tests are carried out with the impact configuration of a pendulum-based nanoindentation device that was instrumented with force-sensing capability by means of a piezoelectric load cell. This is necessary due to the considerable inertia effects that make the actual applied force on the sample much higher than the actuated one. The proposed novel technique was successfully applied to study the mechanical behaviour of an epoxy resin over a wide range of strain rates. The results reveal a significant strain rate sensitivity that correlates well with that obtained for the same material at the macroscale, validating the novel set-up.

迄今为止，由于缺乏合适的仪器，使用微柱压缩试验研究材料的高应变速率机械性能受到了阻碍。在本研究中，介绍了一种新型的高应变率微柱压缩装置。高速测试是在基于摆锤的纳米压痕装置的冲击配置下进行的，该压痕装置通过压电称重传感器具有力感应功能。由于相当大的惯性效应，这是必要的，惯性效应使作用在样品上的实际作用力大大高于被驱动的作用力。所提出的新技术已成功地用于研究大范围应变速率下环氧树脂的机械性能。