Compressive strain rate sensitivity of ballistic gelatin

Gelatin is a popular tissue simulant used in biomedical applications. The uniaxial compressive stress–strain response of gelatin was determined at a range of strain rates. In the quasistatic regime, gelatin strength remained relatively constant. With increase in loading rate, the compressive strength increased from 3kPa at a strain rate of around 0.0013/s to 6MPa at a strain rate of around 3200/s. This dramatic increase in strength of gelatin at high rates is attributed to its shear-thickening behavior and is argued on the basis of hydrocluster formation mechanism and differences in internal energy dissipation mechanism under static and dynamic loading.