Dynamic inelastic response of strain rate sensitive ductile plates due to large impact, dynamic pressure and explosive loadings

•Impact and blast response of plates with large inelastic deflections.•Method to cater for material strain rate sensitive effects.•Comparison of theoretical predictions with recent experimental results.•Method of analysis suitable for preliminary design and safety calculations.•The method is useful for security studies, hazard assessments and forensic investigations.

This article studies the significant amount of literature that has been published recently on the dynamic response of plating subjected to large dynamic loadings. A theoretical method of analysis for mass impacts, dynamic pressure pulses and impulsive velocity or blast loadings on circular, square and rectangular plates is presented for the idealisation of a rigid, perfectly plastic material. This theoretical analysis caters for the influence of finite-displacements and is developed further to predict the response for plates made from a strain rate sensitive material. Relatively simple equations are presented for the maximum permanent transverse displacements which give good agreement with the corresponding experimental data, and therefore, can be used for design purposes, safety calculations, security studies, hazard assessments and forensic investigations.