The response of structures and structural elements to explosive shock or high speed impact is of growing interest to scientists, research engineers and designers throughout the world. Attacks on civil and military buildings, bridges and transport vehicles by terrorists mean that more attention has to be given at the design stage to the effects of explosions and impact, and to the high speed penetration of attack weapons. New design codes of practice need to be based on scientific research, both analytical and experimental, and there is a need for the cross-fertilisation of ideas between military and civil experts. This book brings together the experience of specialists in the behaviour of concrete and metal structures, both above and below ground, to the actions of blast, penetration and high speed collisions. The multi-disciplinary meeting was held to bring together workers in a wide range of engineering activities, who employ common analytical and experimental methods in their estimation of structural response. The results of the meeting will help to stimulate future research and analysis on an international scale.

Table of Contents:
1. Concrete Structures. Formation of full depth cracks in concrete slabs subjected to hard impact (S.H. Perry et al.). Scaling explosive damage to reinforced concrete beams and slabs (A.J. Watson et al.). Concrete in impact tensile tests (J. Weerheijm, H.W. Reinhardt). Nonlinear finite element analysis of impulse loaded RC beams (D.J. Stevens, T. Krauthammer). Concrete damage assessment under blast loading (C.C. Fleischer et al.). The response of reinforced concrete slabs to non-nuclear blast loading (R.S. Crouch, T.M. Chrisp). Nonlinear analysis of concrete barrier structures under explosive charges (W.M. Kuntze et al.). The behaviour of concrete under explosive shock in relation to its compaction under uniaxial strain loading (A.J. Sheridan et al.). Simulation of concrete beams under explosive loading with the finite element method (R.M.M. van Wees, J. Weerheijm). Dynamic behaviour of concrete and its fibre reinforced composites: A review and future research needs (N. Banthia, M. Pigeon). Soft missile perforation analysis of small and large scale concrete slabs (J. Jowett, K. Kinsella). 2. Analysis. BIGGS: Simplified elastic-plastic dynamic response (W.E. Baker, K.H. Spivey). The double-notch shear test - Analysis and development for material testing at very high strain rates (D. Ruiz et al.). Critical time step estimation for three-dimensional explicit impact analysis (R.F. Kulak). A comparison between numerical techniques and analytical models for impact problems (M. Elices et al.). Boundary element analysis of elastodynamic contact problems by the penalty function method (K. Yamazaki, M. Mori). 3. Penetration and Fragmentation. Experimental and theoretical approaches to the high strain rate effect on the properties of armour steels (Y. Meunier et al.). Mathematical models in penetration mechanics (J. Dehn). Hypervelocity fragmentation and terminal effectiveness (I.G. Cullis). Numerical analysis of small fracture in ductile metals (R. Cortes et al.). The apparent synergism in combined blast and fragment loadings (K.A. Marchand, P.A. Cox). Societal risk from detonations in explosive storage structures (K.A.J. Williams, C.P. Ellinas). 4. Collisions. Risk modelling of vessel impacts on a multispan bridge (P. Bein). The dynamic load arising for a crashing military combat aircraft (K. Kinsella, J. Jowett). Crashworthiness analysis of shell structures using the finite element method (Z.H. Zhong). The use of vehicle accelerometer data to estimate the kinematics of automobile occupants during collisions (M.H. Ray, J.F. Carney). Numerical simulation of airbag behaviour (A.M.A. van der Heijden et al.). 5. Plates, Panels and Shells. Response of panels subject to simultaneous in-plane compressive loading and transverse blast loading (C.C. Chong et al.). Dynamic failure of sandwich structures (M.A. Rollins, Y.R. Xia). Nonlinear analysis of one-way stiffened plates under blast loads (R.B. Schubak et al.).