Structural impact

摘要

The topic of structural impact is concerned with the response of structures subjected to dynamic loadings producing large inelastic strains and permanent deformations. This is relevant to safety calculations and hazard assessments for the dynamic response of a wide variety of structures and systems throughout industry as well as energy absorption estimates for structural crashworthiness studies. The rigid-plastic method of analysis is used to examine the dynamic plastic response of a simply supported beam subjected to a uniform pressure pulse, and a fully clamped beam struck by a rigid mass travelling with an initial impact velocity. This latter theoretical solution is used to assess the accuracy and range of validity of a quasi-static method of analysis which is often employed to simplify impact problems in engineering practice. The structural crashworthiness field is introduced through an analysis of the dynamic axial crushing behaviour and energy absorbing capacity of a thin-walled tube. The article concludes with some brief comments on several current research topics on structural impact.