Abstract
Essentially, bamboo arrows are used in Japanese archery. Along with bamboo arrows, duralumin (aluminum alloy) arrows are widely used at present. An arrow fitted to a string is shot by restoring force of bow. Usually the end of an arrow is projecting outward to the target from the trunk of bow at a moment of shooting, however, sometimes the tip of arrow is moved into inside of the trunk of bow (referred as Hikikomi). That rarely happens when the archer draws the string beyond the appropriate length, or the archer uses a not suitable short arrow. In the situation mentioned above, the arrow is affected by the strong axial compressive load, and the archer is exposed to danger. In this study, buckling fracture behavior of duralumin arrows was experimentally investigated under static and dynamic loading conditions. Two types of arrows were examined. The first was the arrow used for over 98 N strength of the bow (here called arrow A), and the second was used for over 147 N (here called arrow B). As a result, arrows A and B were buckled under both loading conditions, and after they were cut into exact halves. Fractured surfaces formed a sharp metal edge and broken pieces flied asunder just before the archers face. This accident is extremely dangerous to the archer and also to other people around the archer. The buckling load was 50 N in arrow A, and 65 N in arrow B, respectively. These buckling loads were quite low in comparison with the strength of bow used for these arrows, 98 N and 147 N, respectively. Consequently, Hikikomi should be absolutely avoided in Japanese kyudo (Japanese martial art of archery).
