Plasticity Methods in Protection and Safety of Industrial Plant andStructural Systems Against Extreme Dynamic Loading

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the contributions that plastic methods of analysis canmake to the protection of the public and the security of industrial plant against extreme dynamicloading events which involve explosive blast pressures or impact loadings from various projectiles.It is possible, by careful design, to absorb the external dynamic energies through large inelasticdeformations of the structural members and specially designed energy-absorbing systems. Boththe protection methods are examined briefly, together with some discussion on the dynamicproperties of materials, including inelastic failure, and the impact perforation of ductile metalstructures. Some phenomena are emphasised that are important for numerical finite-elementschemes as well as theoretical methods of analysis.