Scaling of An Impacted Reticulated Dome Using Partial Similitude Method

Abstract Strain-rate effects can distort model testing with geometrically-similar models. In impact modelling this problem is usually addressed by revising the impact conditions, but such kind of method is inadequate for modelling impact on a reticulated dome. A new technique was proposed and tested. Apart from adjusting the impact conditions, the technique adds additional mass to components of the model to balance the strain-rate effects. That allows studying in model scale more complex structures in which the strain rate varies over the structure’s components. Model scale tests of impact on a reticulated dome showed good agreement with full scale in terms of displacements and axial forces on the structure’s rods. Those results verify the effectiveness of the new technique.