Rebound behaviour of spheres for plastic impacts

This paper presents a study on the rebound behaviour of spheres impacted normally against a target wall using finite element methods. The emphasis is on the prediction of the coefficient of restitution and the effects of material properties and impact velocities on the rebound behaviour of the sphere. Finite deformation during plastic impact is addressed. The finite element results show that, for impacts of small plastic deformation, the coefficient of restitution is mainly dependent on the ratio of the impact velocity V-i to the yield velocity V-y which is consistent with those predicted by the theory of impact mechanics; while for impacts of finite-plastic-deformation it is also dependent on the ratio of the representative Young's Modulus E* to the yield stress Y. The FEA results suggest that for impacts of finite-plastic-deformation the coefficient of restitution can be approximated to be proportional to [(V-i/V-y)/(E*/Y)](-1/2). (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.