THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIVE RELATIONSHIPS FOR MATERIAL BEHAVIOR AT HIGH-RATES OF STRAIN

A brief summary is given of available experimental data on the mechanical behaviour of metallic materials at high and very high rates of strain. The various analytical relationships which have been used to describe such data are reviewed and their theoretical basis is discussed. The importance of an internal structure sensitive parameter in any scientifically valid constitutive relationship is demonstrated. Various constitutive relationships which have actually been used in computer codes to model the impact response of engineering structures are described. The success achieved and the limits of their applicability are discussed.