Deformation and failure of clamped beams under low speed impact loading

A quasi-static procedure is proposed herein for estimating the dynamic plastic response and failure of clamped metal beams subjected to low velocity impact at any point on the span by a heavy mass. Based on the principle of virtual work, load-displacement relationships are obtained. Failure maps are constructed by assuming that axial tensile and shear strains are independent parameters. To combine the influence of the axial and shear strains, an effective strain criterion is suggested for the rupture of the beams. It is found that the present theoretical predictions are in good agreement with experimental observations.