AN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT POLE VAULTING POLE LOAD-DEFORMATION TESTING REGIMES

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This study aimed to determine whether differences in the pole elastic energy characterisation were evident between quasi-static and dynamic load-deformation testing on pole vault poles. A total of 12 pole vault poles were tested from three different manufacturers, who each utilise different materials within their pole construction processes. A quasi-static and a dynamic pole bending test was performed on each pole utilising a custom built rig. A 3D load cell was positioned in series with the rig to obtain the forces required to develop a load-deformation curve for each trial. The results of the bending trials demonstrate a noticeable difference in the load-deformation curves obtained via the two methods, most notably regarding the degree of hysteresis between the loading and unloading phases and the resultant elastic potential energy calculations.