Investigating the Taylor impact problem of an elastic rod using the Rayleigh-Love rod theory

This paper studies the Taylor impact problem of an elastic rod with finite length based on the 1D Rayleigh-Love rod theory which incorporates the transverse inertia effect. Using the Laplace transform method, the solutions of the transient responses of the rod are obtained in series expression. The rebound time and the coefficient of restitution (COR) of the rod are calculated, and the impact-induced lateral additional stress is evaluated. It is shown that the amplitude of the local tensile stress can reach 10%–20% of the axial compression stress near the impact end, which may cause significant damage to the brittle rod. The analytical results agree well with the results from finite element simulations. Our work can provide a theoretical basis for the failure analysis of brittle materials under Taylor impact.