Numerical simulation of impact loaded steel beams and the failure criteria

experimental results for clamped mild steel beams under impact loading reported by Yu and Jones (Yu, J. L. and Jones, N. (1991) Further experimental investigations on the failure of clamped beams under impact loads. International Journal of Solids and Structures 27,1113-l 137) are simulated numerically using the finite-element code ABAQUS with plane stress elements. General observations are presented, including the effect of flexural wave propagation during the early stage of motion and the intluence of material strain rate sensitivity and inertia effects on the structural response. The critical conditions for the beams during the response are revealed and various possible failure criteria are examined and discussed by comparing the experimental and numerical results. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.