Failure maps of clamped beams under impulsive loading

A previously proposed quasi-static procedure is adopted in this paper to estimate the dynamic plastic response and failure of clamped beams under uniformly distributed impulsive loading. Based on the principle of energy conservation and the assumption of equivalent work done, the problem of a beam under impulsive loading is analyzed through the solution of an identical beam subjected to an equivalent static load. It transpires that the present theoretical predictions are in good agreement with the experimental observations in terms of maximum permanent transverse displacements, failure modes, and the critical input impulses causing beam failure due to either tensile tearing or transverse shear.