Research on the response of structures and materials under static and dynamic/transient loading has been enjoying significant development over the past three decades resulting in a range of well-established theories and experimental techniques. Knowledge of the dynamic behaviour of materials and structures is of importance for material selection and for structural designs for energy absorption, crashworthiness, damage assessment following accidental collision or explosive loading, and packaging design for product protection. Here inelastic deformation, strain rate hardening, large deformation, softening, inertial stabilisation and stress wave effects may become dominant factors.
The main aim of the symposium is to stimulate engineering science research to understand, model and develop technologies for new generations of products/processes operating in nonlinear regimes, leading to more effective, accurate, durable and safe operations than are currently available.
The symposium will gather leading international experts to review the state-of-the art, to outline future research directions and to stimulate development of new generation materials, experimental techniques, products and processes operating on principles of nonlinear mechanics and impact dynamics. The meeting will focus on invited presentations and discussions with interactions among attendees to facilitate exchanges of ideas, in the areas closely associated with Professor Steve Reid’s research interest in material engineering, structural mechanics, theory of plasticity and impact dynamics.