Failing dart impact test

We test the impact resistance of polymer plaques using the configuration shown in Fig. 8.8. We subject circular injection molded plaques to the shock of a falling weight with a hemispherical impacter. This test is also known as the Dart Drop Test . Samples can fail in a brittle or a ductile manner. Brittle samples often shatter. Ductile samples can split or a small disk may be punched out of their center. This test provides results that are analogous to those obtained from un-notched impact beam testing. 

The falling dart test, ASTM D3029, reveals the behavior of materials on impact from many product applications such as appliance housings and the Uke. For testing, a flat specimen is suspended over a circular opening below a graduated column with a cantilever arm attached. A weight, also known as a dart or mp, is attached to the arm from which it is released to strike the sample. The arm can be raised or lowered and the width of the tup varied until 50 percent of the sample quantity fails the test. 

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