Steelpan (or pan) is recognized as Trinidad and Tobago's national musical instrument. The flat portion of a steel drum is deformed during the sinking process, producing the bowl for the playing surface. This paper presents a three-pronged methodology that aims to improve this sinking process. The approach comprised the development of procedures identifying sheet deformation properties; examination of dynamic loads carried by hammers onto both surface strain and dimple depth; and describing the optimum hammer criteria. This methodology encompasses the development of procedures and tools to identify and simulate sheet metal strains and hammer dynamics. Sheet metal testing standards were employed in conjunction with a custom-built jig and fixture to measure surface strains. The creation of a finite element analysis (FEA) modeling dynamic interactions between hammer and sheet was facilitated by a COMSOL Multiphysics simulation. The paper provided sample results for both simulated and experimental tests. A sensitivity analysis was recommended to reduce strain offset errors using the Taguchi method. This preliminary work to develop a methodology laid the groundwork for evaluating hammer geometry. It encourages exploration with diverse materials and impact settings, understanding of the dynamic interplay for improving the quality of the sinking process in the pan industry.

Keywords

Steelpan, Deformation, Strain, COMSOL and Hammer.