Calculating Impact Force of a Schmidt Hammer

[tetherballninja]

Hi! I have apparently forgotten way too much college physics, and could really use some help here. I'm trying to calculate the impact force of an instrument (a Schmidt hammer--uses a spring-loaded piston) that produces an impulse against a surface. The instrument registers a rebound value (which I believe is a measure of rebound energy), and I know the impact energy. I don't have the impulse contact time, or the stopping distance, but both are very small (think very stiff spring-loaded metal piston slamming into a cement wall).

So the question is, given only a change in energy (I don't think it matters if you think of it as spring potential, or kinetic just before impact) during an inelastic collision--plus any other information I may be overlooking that can be gleaned from the "rebound" (momentum?)--is there any way to calculate the impact force?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Thanks for the post! Sorry you aren't generating responses at the moment. Do you have any further information, come to any new conclusions or is it possible to reword the post?