Longitudinal impact of cylindrical shells - Experimental measurements of the transient response of longitudinally impacted cylindrical shells are shown to be in good agreement with calculations from two sets of shell equations

The transient response due to longitudinal impact of three aluminum cylindrical shells of different thickness-to-radius ratios is studied both analytically and experimentally. The analyses were obtained from method of characteristics' solutions of two sets of equations: one which includes the transverse shear, radial inertia and rotary inertial effects; and the other set is from a modified membrane theory. Experimentally, longitudinal and circumferential strains are monitored along the length of each of the shells; the velocity of the impacter ring is also measured. The experimental results of this study indicate that the wavefront, after traveling three diameters from the impacted end, propagates at essentially the plate velocity, in agreement with the theory. In addition, the longitudinal and circumferential strains calculated from the two theories are in good agreement with the experimental results.