Pressure-impulse diagrams for the behavior assessment of structural components

Theoretical and numerical methods for deriving pressure-impulse (P-I) diagrams for structural elements subjected to transient loads are described in this paper. Three different search algorithms for deriving P-I diagrams numerically were developed by the authors and are presented. The P-I diagrams of a linear elastic system under rectangular and triangular load pulses are derived using both theoretical and numerical methods and the results are compared. The application of these approaches to the behavior assessment of tested structural elements is illustrated. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.