2009 Schedule and Locations2009 Schedule and Locations

January 12-16

Monterey, CA (Site Host: Lansmont Corporation)

(The Monterey course is limited to first 25 registrants)

March 30-April 3

Hampton, VA

July 13-17

Minneapolis, MN

September 21-25

Huntsville, AL

Mechanical Shock may be defined as a sudden change in velocity and is a major design consideration for a wide variety of systems and their components. The structural response to mechanical shock must be measured and characterized during the engineering development of these systems so that they will survive all environments during their service lifetime. These environments may include (but are not limited to): handling and transportation shocks, shocks during system delivery to a target, use impact shocks and shock originating from an explosive or pyrotechnic event. These different shock environments have quite a velocity change range from about 1 meter per second to 51 meters per second (40 - 2000 ips).  Conversely acceleration magnitudes range from 4 g's in earthquakes to 200,000 g's in differentiated LDV measured pyroshocks.

This course will provide a comprehensive treatment of mechanical shock test techniques and data analysis for shocks from 100 g’s to 200,000 g’s. Mechanical shock instrumentation from low frequency techniques for underwater explosions (digitally filtered at 250 Hz as required by the US Navy) to high frequency techniques for ballistic shock will be reviewed in detail along with the techniques and data analyses to evaluate the instrumentation measuring these shocks.

Mechanical shock test techniques from package testing to conventional mechanical shock machines to pyroshock simulations and Hopkinson bar techniques will be presented.  Design procedures for mechanical shock equipment will be discussed in detail.  Where possible, theoretical bases for mechanical shock test techniques are provided.  Mechanical shock data analysis and interpretation will be a major focus of all presentations and discussions and will include shock data examination and editing as well as interpolation, trend removal, and integration with Matlab. 

Dr. Vesta I. Bateman

Dr. Bateman is a mechanical shock specialist and retired from Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque , New Mexico after twenty-seven years of service.  She was the Facility Leader for the Mechanical Shock Laboratory at Sandia National Laboratories where she was responsible for a wide spectrum of mechanical shock testing including drop table, Hopkinson bar, horizontal pneumatic actuator, rocket rail, live pyroshock, and pyroshock simulation shock tests.  She has developed a unique shock isolator for a high shock, high frequency accelerometer as well as the test techniques and data analyses required to evaluate accelerometers and isolated accelerometers.  These technologies have been transferred to industry through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA’s).  Dr. Bateman also developed high frequency Hopkinson bar testing with bars made of beryllium and a technique for reconstruction of dynamic forces from accelerometer measurements to assess material crush characteristics.  A paper by Dr. Bateman and her co-authors won the 1992 Henry Pusey Best Paper Award at the Shock and Vibration Symposium. She was awarded the IEST Edward O. Szymkowiak Award in 2003 for her leadership in Pyroshock Testing. She is the author of two chapters in Harris’ Shock and Vibration Handbook, the ISO Secondary Shock Calibration Standard, and the IEST Pyroshock Testing Recommended Practice as well as over 100 journal and conference papers and reports.  Dr. Bateman has a Ph.D from University of Arizona and taught for four years at Virginia Tech at the beginning of her career. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Group for SAVIAC.

 Dr. Howard A. Gaberson

Dr. Gaberson is a shock and vibration specialist with 40 years of dynamics experience.  He worked for the US Navy Civil Engineering Laboratory and later the Facilities Engineering Service Center from 1968 to 2000, mostly conducting dynamics research.  He specializes in shock and vibration signal analysis, and has published over 120 papers and reports.  His recent work includes time frequency signal processing of machinery vibrations, and the use of the pseudo velocity shock spectrum for evaluation of explosion induced equipment motion. He is the Chairman of the Diagnostics and Signal Analysis Committee and a Fellow of the MFPT Society.   He is a member of the G5 Committee on Aerospace Shock and Vibration.  He taught mechanical engineering for eight years and has a Ph.D. from MIT.  He is the 2007 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from SAVIAC, and serves on SAVIAC’s Technical Advisory Group.

          Introduction to Mechanical Shock

          Mechanical Shock Measurement

          Mechanical Shock Instrumentation         

          Certification of Shock

          Instrumentation/Measurement devices

          Time Domain Shock Specifications

          Frequency Domain Shock Specifications

          Shock Analysis using the Acceleration

          Shock Response Spectrum

          Revolutionary Treatment of Pyroshock  with the Pseudo Velocity Shock Spectrum

          Data Acquisition System Calibration/Use

          Matlab Data Analysis

          Conventional Shock Testing Machines For Components and Full Scale Systems

          Underwater Explosion Testing

          Navy Mechanical Shock Machines

          Pyroshock Testing and Simulation

          Full-Scale Pyroshock Tests and Simulations

          Component Pyroshock Simulations Including

          Apparatus and Fixture Design

          Accelerometer, MEMS, and Materials

          Evaluations

          Hopkinson Bar theory

          Hopkinson Bar Certifications

          Hopkinson Bar Materials and Configurations

          Commercial Laser Doppler Vibrometer use and Certification

          Uncertainty Analysis

          Review and Wrap-up Sessions

Course Syllabus (click here)

The Fee for the course is $1500 per student.   The registration is transferable to any person in the same organization. The fee includes a comprehensive set of course notes, a compilation of papers by Instructors Bateman and Gaberson,  a text book entitled Shock Data Analysis by Rudolph J. Scavuzzo and Henry C. Pusey, a Certificate of completion worth 3 CEUs, as well as a Continental Breakfast, Lunch and coffee breaks daily.  A Registration Form may be printed out from the SAVIAC Web Site or may be requested from Sallie  Pusey, SAVIAC Course Registrar (Contact Information below)

Register for the course dates of your choice as early as possible but at least 30 days prior to the first day of the course. After that date inquire from Sallie Pusey to learn if space is still available. Courses are subject to cancellation due to lack of interest.