We are all familiar with impact. Lesser impacts such as hammering a nail, cracking an egg or stubbing a toe are part of everyday life. More violent impacts such as those caused by car crashes or bullets are fortunately less common but are still well enough known to be taken for granted. Very violent impacts such as meteorites striking the earth are outside our personal experience but we are aware of them. Despite this, impacts remain mysterious. They occur too quickly for us to follow what is happening and the evidence they leave behind is often ambiguous. Over the last thirty years improvements in high speed instrumen tation and developments in computing have made them more comprehensible and an increasing amount of attention is being paid to the subject which is an area of expanding scientific and engineering research. A multi-disciplinary approach is not yet established and information is scattered in many places and expressed in a variety of jargons. In applied mathematics, impacts have provided interesting theoretical problems with elegant solutions but it has been difficult to check results experimentally. Impacts can change the behaviour of materials but similar changes can sometimes be produced in other ways and the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Empirical solutions to engineering problems have worked reasonably well but it is hard to know what to do if things go wrong.

This second edition of Impact Engineering covers the dynamic analysis of structures undergoing small to large displacements, linear and nonlinear elastic material behavior to viscoplasticity, and the range of features of structural impact analysis. Individuals, as well as various governing bodies are concerned about protection against natural hazards, crash-type accidents, and terrorism- commonly referred to as "impact"- implying a rapid loading process. The book discusses the physics involved in such impact situations and incorporates analytical considerations as well as techniques to obtain and interpret experimental data and relevant numerical techniques. It also includes a chapter on scaling which is a relevant aspect when studying impact on large structures. This book will be useful for advanced students and professionals in civil and mechanical engineering as well as for students and researchers in applied physics and other relevant disciplines.

The book provides an introduction to the mechanics of composite materials, written for graduate students and practitioners in industry. It examines ways to model the impact event, to determine the size and severity of the damage and discusses general trends observed during experiments.

This book is intended to help the reader understand impact phenomena as a focused application of diverse topics such as rigid body dynamics, structural dynamics, contact and continuum mechanics, shock and vibration, wave propagation and material modelling. It emphasizes the need for a proper assessment of sophisticated experimental/computational tools promoted widely in contemporary design. A unique feature of the book is its presentation of several examples and exercises to aid further understanding of the physics and mathematics of impact process from first principles, in a way that is simple to follow.

From the fundamentals of impact mechanics and biomechanics to modern analysis and design techniques in impact energy management and occupant protection this book provides an overview of the application of nonlinear finite elements, conceptual modeling and multibody procedures, impact biomechanics, injury mechanisms, occupant mathematical modeling, and human surrogates in crashworthiness.

Nonlinear Optimization of Vehicle Safety Structures: Modeling of Structures Subjected to Large Deformations provides a cutting-edge overview of the latest optimization methods for vehicle structural design. The book focuses on large deformation structural optimization algorithms and applications, covering the basic principles of modern day topology optimization and comparing the benefits and flaws of different algorithms in use. The complications of non-linear optimization are highlighted, along with the shortcomings of recently proposed algorithms. Using industry relevant case studies, users will how optimization software can be used to address challenging vehicle safety structure problems and how to explore the limitations of the approaches given. The authors draw on research work with the likes of MIRA, Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors European Technology Centre as part of multi-million pound European funded research projects, emphasizing the industry applications of recent advances. The book is intended for crash engineers, restraints system engineers and vehicle dynamics engineers, as well as other mechanical, automotive and aerospace engineers, researchers and students with a structural focus. - Focuses on non-linear, large deformation structural optimization problems relating to vehicle safety - Discusses the limitations of different algorithms in use and offers guidance on best practice approaches through the use of relevant case studies - Author's present research from the cutting-edge of the industry, including research from leading European automotive companies and organizations - Uses industry relevant case studies, allowing users to understand how optimization software can be used to address challenging vehicle safety structure problems and how to explore the limitations of the approaches given

This unique compendium presents the Gradient Smoothing Methods (GSMs), as a general solver for linear and nonlinear PDEs (Partial Differential Equations) with a focus on fluids and flowing solids.The volume introduces the basic concepts and theories of the gradient smoothing technique used in the GSMs. Formulations for both Eulerian-GSM and Lagrangian-GSM are presented. The key ingredients of GSMs and its effectiveness in solving challenging fluid/solid flow problems with complex geometries are then discussed.Applications of GSM are highlighted, including compressible and incompressible flows, hydrodynamics with flexible free surface, and flowing solids with material strength and large deformation in geotechnical engineering, in particular, landslide simulations.In-house MATLAB codes are provided for both Eulerian and Lagrangian GSMs, along with detailed descriptions. More efficient FORTRAN source codes for solving complex engineering problems are also available on Github.

This excellent book highlights all aspects of the analysis and design of buildings subject to impact, explosion and fire. It is a definitive reference book and contains 10 chapters from a wide international prospective. Three-dimensional finite element and discrete element techniques are included. They are applied to buildings such as the World Trade Center (WTC Twin Towers) and the Federal Building in Oklahoma on the basis of the designers drawings, data and other information. Many small case studies are also included. The book has a comprehensive bibliography and a large appendix providing background analysis and computer subroutines of recently developed programs.

This volume highlights the latest advances and innovations in the field of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the 5th International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ZM), held in Nicosia, Northern Cyprus on June 30-July 2, 2022. It covers a diverse range of topics such as soil properties and characterization; shallow and deep foundations; soil improvement; excavations, support systems, earth-retaining structures and underground systems; earthquake geotechnical engineering; stability of slopes and landslides; fills and embankments; environmental preservation, water and energy; modelling and analyses in geotechnical engineering. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, present a wealth of exciting ideas that will open novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different specialists.