ACTA MECHANICA SINICA (English Series), Vo1.12, No.4, Nov.

1996 ISSN 0567-7718

The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Chinese Journal of Mechanics Press, Beijing, China
Allerton Press, INC., New York, U.S.A.

A N A N A L Y S I S OF T H E S H E A R F A I L U R E OF R I G I D - L I N E A R
H A R D E N I N G B E A M S U N D E R I M P U L S I V E LOADING*

Wang Lili (Li-lih Wang ~r Norman Jones +

(Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China and also
University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China)
+(Impact Research Centre, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Liverpool, P.O.Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX, U.K.)

ABSTRACT: A theoretical rigid-plastic analysis for the dynamic shear failure of

beams under impulsive loading is presented when using a travelling plastic shear hinge
model which takes into account material strain hardening. The maximum dynamic
shear strain and shear strain-rate can be predicted in addition to the permanent
transverse deflections and other parameters. The conditions for the three modes
of shear failure, i.e., excess deflection failure, excess shear strain failure and adia-
batic shear failure are analyzed. The special case of an infinitesimally small plastic
zone is discussed and compared with N,onaka's solution for a rigid, perfectly plastic
material. The results can also be generalized to examine the dynamic response of
fibre-reinforced beams.

KEY WORDS: shear failure, rigid-linear hardening plastic beam, dynamic re-
sponse, impulsive loading, adiabatic shear

1 INTRODUCTION
The dynamic inelastic response of beams when subjected to large dynamic loads has
been investigated by many authors [1]. It has been recognized that due to the additional
influence of transverse inertia, transverse shear force effects play a more important role in
the dynamic response than in the quasi-static behaviour of beams.
Nonaka introduced the so-called plastic shearing 'hinge' (slide) for the dynamic shear
response of beams, although it was limited to the simplest rigid-perfectly plastic beams [zl.
Refs. [3~5] further developed the plastic shear hinge concept to take account of the influence
of strain hardening for the dynamic plastic behaviour of ideal fibre-reinforced rigid-plastic
beams. These studies focused largely on predicting the transverse displacements of beams.
It should be noted that most of the above analyses are, explicitly or implicitly, based on
the assumption that the beam material has a large enough ductility so that it only fails due
to excessive displacement. However, an excessive displacement is only one of the possible
modes of failure of a beam. In fact, as pointed out by Menkes and Opat [6] and in Ref. [7],
for beams subjected to impulsive velacities, at least three failure modes may exist, i.e., large
ductile deformations(Mode I), tensile-tearing (Mode II) and transverse shearing (Mode III).
For the latter two modes, a beam fails due to excessive tensile (or bending) stress/strain (for
Received 2 June 1995, revised 23 May 1996
Vo1.12, No.4 Wang & Jones: Shear Failure of Rigid-Linear Hardening Beams 339

Mode II) or an excessive transverse shear stress/strain (for Mode III), if a critical stress or
strain criterion of failure is assumed. Thus, a satisfactory analysis for the dynamic failure
of a beam requires predictions for the corresponding dynamic stresses and strains. The
critical stress or strain criteria of failure mentioned above are generally material strain rate
sensitive. Thus, in a complete analysis of a dynamic beam problem, it is necessary to predict
the corresponding strain-rates too. All of these features were not studied in Refs. [2~5],
nor examined by other researchers.
Furthermore, with regard to the transverse shear failure mode, it has been recognized
that two essentially different failure mechanisms exist especially at high strain rates. One
is the conventional transverse shear failure, for which the fracture results mainly from the
nucleation and growth of microcracks (for brittle failure) or micro-voids (for ductile failure).
Another is an adiabatic shear failure which is characterized by a highly localized adiabatic
shear band. Both experimental and theoretical investigations have shown that the process
of adiabatic shearing is governed by a thermo-visco-plastic instability criterion with two
control variables, which provide a critical relation between the strain and strain-rate for
a given environmental temperature [s~11]. Thus, it is necessary to obtain the strains and
strain-rates in order to predict the possible occurrence of an adiabatic shear failure in a
dynamically loaded beam.
In the present paper, the basic character of a travelling plastic shear hinge in a rigid-
linear hardening plastic beam, is first studied. As an example, the dynamic shear responses,
including shear strain, strain-rate as well as the transverse displacement, are analysed in de-
tail for a simply supported beam loaded impulsively. Furthermore, the possible occurrence
of different failure mechanisms, i.e., excessive displacement, excessive transverse shear strain
and adiabatic shearing, and their relations are discussed. An analytical method for predict-
ing the dominant failure mode is suggested. Finally, the special case for an infinitesimally
small plastic zone is examined and compared with Nonaka's solution.
It is found from the analytical solution obtained that the proposed travelling shear
hinge approach, with the assumption that shear force will take precedence to yield than
bending moment, is suitable for solving the posed impulsively loaded beam problem within
the range

Q~ ( I
< 1

where L8 stands for the dimensionless length of the plastic zone,

L8 = 1 - exp ( mCQVo )
Q0
in which, Q0 and M0 are yield shear force and fully plastic bending moment at yield respec-
tively, L and m are half-span and mass per unit length of the beam respectively, while CQ
and V0 are travelling velocity of the shear hinge and initial impulsive velocity respectively.
The problem which the above range is exceeded may be solved by the travelling shear hinge
approach too but with another assumption that joined yielding of shear force and bending
moment must be considered.

T R A V E L L I N G P L A S T I C S H E A R H I N G E (SLIDE) F O R A R I G I D - L I N E A R
HARDENING PLASTIC BEAM
The beam is assumed to be made from a rigid-linear hardening plastic material with
340 ACTA MECHANICA SINICA (English Series) 1996
the relation

~=0 for Q < Q o

qt
Q=Qo+Gp'~ for Q>_Qo and ~'_>0 Q0!
(1) I

I
where Q is the transverse shear force, 7 is the |
transverse shear strain, Q0 is the yield shear
force and Gp the linear hardening modulus
(Fig.l).
Consider a shear plastic 'hinge' (slide)
travelling along the neutral axis x of a beam
with a velocity ~ : d~/dt, where ~ is the lo-
0
1 Y
Fig.1 An idealized rigid-linear hardening
cation of the shear hinge on the x axis. Let
plastic Q ,~ -/relation
w denote the transverse displacement, w --
Ow/at'the transverse velocity, p the density of the material, A0 the area of a beam cross-
section and m = pAo the mass per unit length of a beam. Thus, momentum conservation
and displacement continuity across a travelling shear hinge requireD,12]

[Q] = (2)
= (3)
respectively, where [P] denotes the difference between the values of quantity P on either
side of a hinge or other singular interface.
From Eqs.(2) and (3), we have

[Q] (4a)
rob]
which, in the present case of a rigid-linear hardening plastic beam becomes

= d=~/r-~p/m ----• (4b)

where the plus or the minus sign corresponds to a transverse shear hinge travelling in the
positive or the negative direction along the x axis, respectively. Eq.(4) shows that the
travelling velocity of a shear hinge, ~, is determined mainly by the Q-'y characteristics of a
beam.
It should be emphasized that the values of Q0 and Gp in Eqs.(1) and (4b) are generally
rate-dependent. It is evident that a shear hinge is stationary in a perfectly plastic mate-
rial as observed by Nonaka and also in other theoretical solutions using a perfectly plastic
material [1]. Note that in such a case the displacement continuity condition, Eq.(3), requires
that the transverse particle velocity, dJ, has to be continuous across a stationary transverse
shear hinge, although the shear strain 7 may be discontinuous.
Thus, it transpires that a 'rigid-perfectly plastic beam' assumption leads to a stationary
transverse shear hinge with non-unique values of the shear strain and shear strain rate.
Neither shear strain nor strain-rate can be predicted in a failure analysis using a shear
plastic hinge model when plastic hardening is neglected. The importance of retaining plastic
hardening (dQ/d~, > 0) in a theoretical analysis provides a motivation for the following
section.
Vol.12, No.4 Wang & Jones: Shear Failure of Rigid-Linear Hardening Beams 341

3 A SHEAR FAILURE ANALYSIS FOR A SIMPLY SUPPORTED BEAM

LOADED IMPULSIVELY
3.1 Transverse Displacement, Shear Strain and Shear Strain-rate
A simply supported beam subjected to a uniformly distributed impulsive velocity, V0,
as shown in Fig.2, is analysed as an example of the rigid-linear hardening plastic shear hinge
model discussed in the previous section.

~" ---X--- )
// M

V0

ILllllllltl
t L

Fig.2 Simply supported beam subjected to a uniformly distributed impulsive velocity, V0

Momentum conservation requires

OM
v~ = m~ = Q (5a, b)
Ox Ox
where M is the bending moment acting on the cross-section of a beam. The rotatory inertia
effects are disregarded in the derivation of (5b). The initial and boundary conditions for the
problem in Fig.2 are
w = 0 zb : V0 for t = 0 (6a, b)
Q -- 0 for x : 0 (6c)
M = 0 for x = ~L (6d)
Only one-hMf of the beam, 0 < x < L, is considered henceforth owing to the symmetry
about x -- 0.
If a plastic shear hinge travels in the negative direction of x with velocity - C Q from
x -- L towards the beam mid-span, then the jumps in the transverse shear force, shear strain
and transverse particle velocity across the plastic hinge are, respectively
[Q] = ( - Q ~ ) - ( - Q o ) (7a)
[7] = (-~1) - 0 (7b)
[w] = 0 - w (7c)

where the subscript 1 denotes the quantity just behind the travelling hinge. Thus, Eq.(2)
and Eq.(3) at the travelling hinge now, respectively, reduce to
342 ACTA MECHANICA SINICA (English Series) 1996
q l - Q0 = m c q r (8a) L

(v = CQ7I
Since both parts of the beam on ei-
(8b)

ther side of the travelling hinge are rigid, the

oI W
(a)
j~
transverse velocity distribution with respect
to x for t > 0 is (Fig.3a)
~b -- 17d for 0< x < ~ (9a)
= 0 for ~< x < L (9b) ( ~ ~ ~ b ) Q~ Q,
where l~(t) denotes the transverse velocity
at x = 0, ~ is the transient location of the
transverse shear hinge and in the present case

J
= L - CQt (10)

The transverse shear force distribution

w
can be obtained from Eq.5(a)
Q=m~idx for 0<x<~ (lla)
Q---QI(t) for ~<x<L (llb)
(d) ~s
as shown in Fig.3b and where ~Jd = d l ~ / d t
is given by

l~ -- Q0 (12)
m ( L - CQt)

when using Eqs.(6c), (Ta) and (10) in

Eqs.(ll) and (12).
Integrating Eq.(12) with respect to t, (e)
together with the initial condition from
Fig.3 Simply supported beam loaded impulsively
Eq.(6b) gives
with u(1 + Ls) _< 1, at time t < T~
(a) Transverse velocity profile
w ( t ) = t o r t ) = v0 + In 1 - - Z - - / (b) Transverse shear force distribution
(c) Transverse displacement profile
for (d) Transverse shear strain distribution
0< x < ~ (13) (e) Bending moment distribution

so that l~(t) decreases with time t, since ln(1 - C Q t / L ) < 0 when ~ < L. Thus, there is
a time T8 when I~(Ts) -- 0 and consequently [~b] = 0. In other words, the travelling hinge
disappears at x = ~s and the motion of the whole beam ceases at the same time when t -- Ts,
where
L [1 - e x p ( - mcq v0 ~ ] (14a)

The portion of the beam 0 < x < ~s reaches its final state at $ = Ts, while the motion of
.the rigid part behind the travelling hinge (~ < x < L) ceases immediately upon arrival of
Vo1.12, No.4 Wang & Jones: Shear Failure of Rigid-Linear Hardening Beams 343
the plastic hinge, as indicated by Eq.(9b). Thus, the motion of the outer regions stop at the
time T(x) given by
L-x
T(x) = ~ for ~s < x < L (14b)
cq
where ~ = L - L~ and L~ is the final length of the plastic zone.

L.=CQT.=L[i-exp( Qo ~1
~c~vo ]J (15)

The transverse displacement now can be obtained by integrating Eq.(13) to give

w(t) = Vo't, - ~ -(~1Q- Q ~{ CQt~L][ l n ( 1 - "~-]CQt'~_ 1] + 1} 0< x < e (16)

when using the initial condition represented by Eq.(6a). Eqs.(14a), (14b), and (16) predict
the final permanent displacement profile
VoL{1 + _ Q0
_ [exp( mCQVo~ 1] } 0 < x <'~8 (17a)
~s = ws = ~ ~cQvo E J

~]-/f : w / ( x ) : VoL ~ ( 1 . x "~ Qo [ x 11

"-~Ql\ - L ] - mCQVo L-Lkl.n~-1)+ 1j~ ~. < x < L (17]:))

as shown in Fig.3(c).
Differentiating w I (x) with respect to x gives the shear strain distribution-~(x) = Ow/Ox
(Fig.3d),
7(x) = 0 0 < x < ~, (18a)

~/(z) = - % 1 + mCQVo
the absolute value of which increases with x up to the maximum value

% = Vo/CQ (18c)

Note that Eqs.(18) can also be derived from Eqs.(8b), (13) and (14a), showing that the
kinematic condition across the travelling plastic hinge is satisfied.
On the other hand, to satisfy the kinetic condition across the travelling plastic hinge,
the shear force Q1 can be given by Eqs.(8a) and (13) as a function of t

-- + Qo +'~ + Qo - (19a)

where

Qs = Qo + mCQVo (19b)
is the maximum value of Ql(t) at t = 0, since Eq.(19a) shows that Ql(t) decreases with t
because the plastic zone length, ls -- CQt, is less than L.
Note that the decrease of QI(t) with time means that the part of the beam behind
the plastic hinge (~ < x < L) is in a rigid-unl0ading state, which leads to the nonuniform
distribution of plastic shear strain given by Eq.(18b) and shown in Fig.3d.
The strain rate across an idealized travelling shear hinge (CQ > 0) is theoretically
infinite when [~/] ~ 0. Therefore, in order to estimate the strain rate in a beam from an
344 ACTA MECHANICA SINICA (English Series) 1996
engineering viewpoint, the absolute value of average shear strain, %v, over the localized
plastic zone, Ls, is defined as

fL-L,Z'7(x)dx[ = WI (20a)
7av = I
L8 L8
when using Eqs.(17) and (18). The average strain rate, ~/av, can be determined approximately
as
~%v -- 7~v _ WI (20b)
Ts L,T,
Thus, not only the transverse displacement, but also the transverse shear strain and
an estimate for the shear strain-rate can be predicted by means of the travelling rigid-linear
hardening plastic shear hinge mode] suggested above.
However, further analysis is required to obtain the bending m o m e n t distribution, in
order to determine whether or not the foregoing theoretical analysis satisfiesthe associated
yield condition.
From Eqs.(5b), (i0), (n), (12) and (19), together with the boundary condition for the
bending m o m e n t at x = ( = (L - CQt), the bending m o m e n t distribution M(x) is

M=QI(L-x):Q,L[I+ ln(1- CQt~l(1-

L ]J Zx) (L-CQt)<x<L (21a)

M=Q1CQt + _ ~ ( I _ CQt~[,I_ x2 ]
-VJ (1-C i/L)2L2j
Qo [CQt ln(1 - Cet~ 1(1 - CQt~
r +EL-Z- L J+5
x2
(1-I_CQtlL)2L2)]} O<x<(L-CQt) (21b)

The maximum bending moment according to Eq.(21b) occurs spatially at the mid-span as
shown in Fig.3e

M(O't)=Q1CQt+-~( 1-CQt~L/=--2-+Q~ (Qi - -~-)CQt (22)

and increases monotonously with t.

Eq.(19) gives Q1 = Q0 when t -- T~, then the maximum moment with respect to both
x and t, Mm, is
M,~= M(O,T,)=-Q-~ (I +---f CQT~]
-] (23a)

or, in a dimensionless form

AT/m = v(1 + f.,~,) (23b)
when the dimensionless final plastic zone length is defined as

L~ - L~ _ CQT~ (24a)
L L
the dimensionless bending moment is
2~I= M/Mo (245)
where M0 is the fully plastic bending moment at yield, and the dimensionless strength ratio
v is Ill
Vol.12, No.4 Wang & Jones: Shear Failure of Rigid-Linear Hardening Beams 345

v = QoL/2Mo (24c)
Thus, without any loss of generality, if a square yield condition relating Q and M is
assumed, then it is evident that Eq.(23b) leads to a yield violation in M at the mid-span
( x = 0) and t = Ts when v(1 -t-/~) > 1. Therefore, the foregoing theoretical analysis for the
dynamic shear failure of beams is valid only for

v(1 + Ls) < 1 (25)

It means that when Eq.(25) is satisfied the dynamic response of the beam discussed is
dominated by shear failure. In principle, the present analysis can be generalized to embrace
other yield criteria, which, however, is not the object of the present study.
3.2 D i f f e r e n t M o d e s o f S h e a r F a i l u r e for a B e a m
Now, the following three possible modes of shear failure can be predicted by the present
model:
(a) Excess transverse deflection failure. This failure mode occurs when the transverse
displacement, w f, predicted by Eq.(17), exceeds the critical transverse displacement, wc

ws > wc (26)

where wc is predetermined from the design requirements.

(b) Excess transverse shear strain failure. If a critical shear strain criterion of failure is
assumed, this failure mode occurs when the maximum shear strain, %, predicted by Eq.(18),
exceeds the critical shear strain, ~c
~ > ~c (27)
In general, the critical fracture strain of a material is dependent on the shear strain-rate.
(c) Adiabatic shear failure. This mode of shear failure may take place at sufficiently
high strain-rate. A thermo-viscoplastic instability criterion has been proposed on the base of
theoretical treatment and experimental data of several materials [s~11]. It takes the following
form
0

where G l , g and c~ characterize the strain-hardening, strain-rate hardening and thermal-

softening properties, respectively. The parameters r0, ~0 and To are the characteristic stress,
strain-rate and temperature for a quasi-static test, respectively, p the material density, C
the specific heat and/~ is the Taylor-Quinney coefficient of viscoplastic work converted to
heat. The parameter A is a constant characterizing a certain state of the adiabatic shearing
process, for example, the initiation of a deformed shear band, a transformed shear band or
adiabatic fracture.
The mode which dominates the shear failure of a practical beam will depend generally
on which critical condition (Eqs.(26), (27) or (28)) is first satisfied.

4 DISCUSSION
4.1 T h e C a s e o f a S m a l l P l a s t i c Z o n e (Ls << 1)
For a material having a relatively high yield strength with a relatively weak strain-
346 ACTA MECHANICA SINICA (English Series) 1996

hardening characteristic, we have

mCQVo _ Cp%. << 1 (29)

Qo Qo
and subsequently, from Eq.(15)
~ m C Q V o << I
L8 = (30)
Q0
This means that the final length of a plastic zone is much shorter than the one-half span
length of a beam 9
In this circumstance, most of the equations presented in Section 3 now can be simplified
to facilitate engineering applications. In fact, Eq.(14a) for Ts, (17) for HI/, (18)for "/(x)
and (20) for ~/av reduce to
mL Vo
Ts-~ (31)
Qo
m Vo2L
w/=W/~ 2Q0 0<x<(L-58) (32a)

w I-~-~Q 1--~ 2mCQVo 1 - (i-L,)<x<i (32b)

7(x) ~- -78 1
[ Q0(
mCQVo 1 - (L - L,) < x < i (33)

9 ,~ Q0
%v = (34)
2mCQL
respectively.
4.2 Comparisons w i t h Nonaka's Solution
Equations (31) and (32) are identical to the well-known Nonaka's solution [2] for beams
having u _ 1 (also see Sec.6.3 in [1]). Thus, the present study is a generalization of Nonaka's
solution, or Nonaka's solution can be regarded as an approximate solution of the present
analysis when L8 -~ 0.
However, the following points should be noted:
(a) The displacement cont!nuity condition, [w] = 0, which should not be violated, is
satisfied across the travelling rigid-plastic hardening shear hinge in the present solution even
when L8 << 1, whereas [w] ~ 0 across the stationary plastic shear hinge in Nonaka's solution.
(b) Unlike Nonaka's solution, the present solution provides not only the value of Wf
for the excessive displacement failure prediction, but also predicts the maximum transverse
shear strain, 78, transverse shear strain-rate, ~av, and the plastic zone length, Ls, for the
excessive shear strain failure prediction, including predictions for adiabatic shear failure.
(c) Eq.(25) gives the critical condition for a shear-preferential beam, which can be
rewritten as
v* = v(1 + L. ) = Qo___LL ( mCQ Vo ~ ]
2M0 + QOLuMoLrl - exp / j <_ 1 (as)

and when L8 : 0, reddces to the corresponding condition for Nonaka's solution

QoL
u= < 1 (36)
2Mo-
Vol.12, No.4 Wang & Jones: Shear Failure of Rigid-Linear Hardening Beams 347

It is clear that inequality (35) is more restrictive than (36) but is more realistic since the
impulsive velocity, V0, and the plastic hardening modulus, Gp, are included in addition to
Q0, M0, and L in inequality (36). Moreover, the approximate inequality (36) in fact only
corresponds to the beginning of motion (l~ = 0) when M(O) = QoL/2 at t = 0, while
the exact inequality (36) is derived for the entire phase of motion, i.e., from the beginning
( t = 0) to the end (t = Ts). Since the maximum bending moment with respect to x, M(0, t),
increases with time t, as shown by Eq.(22), it is clear that inequality (36) only ensures that
no plastic bending hinge forms at t = 0, but does not ensure a plastic bending hinge never
develops at t > 0. Therefore, the present inequality (35) is more reasonable, and, in fact,
corresponds to the end of motion (t -- Ts). The case for v* > 1 will be analysed in a future
paper.
4.3 Fibre-Reinforced Rigid-Plastic B e a m
The analyses and discussions given above can be generalized to fibre-reinforced beams
without significant difficulty, if the fibre-reinforced effect for beams is regarded as a strength-
ening effect which substantially leads to an increase of M0, and a consequent decrease of
u and ~,*. In fact, the various analyses in Refs. [3] to [5] for the dynamic behaviour of
ideal fibre-reinforced (strongly anisotropic) beams all correspond to the case of M0 --+ co
or u* << 1, which c a n ' b e regarded as a special case of the present analysis. Thus, when
the fibre-reinforced effect can be regarded by an equivalent change of u*, the results of the
present paper, in principle, can be generalized to include fibre reinforced beams.
As an example, consider a fibre-reinforced beam with a sandwich-like cross-section.
Let d denote the thickness of both the upper and lower reinforced layers, and h denote the
thickness of the middle unreinforced layer. This gives a total height of H = 2d + h. It is
evident that M0 depends mainly on the tensile yield strength of the reinforced fibre, aol,
so that Mo = aold(h + d) (per unit width), while Q0 depends mainly on the shear yield
strength of the polymer matrix, TOm ~ aom/2, which gives Q0 = ao,~H/2 (per unit width).
In this circumstance, Eq.(24c) becomes

a0m L ~ h (37)
v = a0l(1 - h2) H --

Thus, for a reinforced beam with O'of/O'Om -- 40 and h / H = 0.714, Eq.(37) gives v =
O.0255(2L/H). On the other hand, if it is assumed that 7s = 20% then Vo = 0.2CQ from
Eq.(18c). Moreover, assuming Gp/Qo = 0.5 ~ 2.5, then the final length of plastic zone can
be determined by Eq.(15) as Ls = (0.1 ~ 0.4)L, showing that the travelling plastic shear
hinge propagates a significant distance along a beam. Thus, inequality (25) predicts that
the failure mode of the above reinforced beam will be governed by a shear failure when
(2L)/H < 26 ~ 36. It is worth noting that when Gp/Qo <_0.05, which can be regarded as
an approximately perfectly plastic beam, then Ls < 0.01L (when % = 0.2) and the present
solution reduces to Nonaka's approximation.

5 CONCLUSIONS
A theoretical rigid-linear strain hardening plastic analysis for the dynamic shear failure
of beams, subjected to impulsive loading, is presented herein, using a travelling plastic shear
hinge model. The analytical results show that material strain hardening should be taken into
account in order to extend an elementary shear failure analysis to provide predictions for
the strain and strain-rate in addition to the transverse displacements and other parameters.
348 ACTA MECHANICA SINICA (English Series) 1996
The theoretical results for a simply supported b e a m loaded impulsively indicate t h a t
three possible modes of shear failure m a y occur, i.e., excessive transverse deflection failure,
excessive transverse shear strain failure and adiabatic shear failure. Analytical method using
the present travelling plastic shear hinge model is suggested for predicting the dominant
failure mode.
The examination for statical admissibility of the present solution shows t h a t the pure
shear failure of beams occurs only when the inequality v* -- v(1 + Ls) _< 1.
For a material having a relatively high yield strength with a relatively weak strain-
hardening characteristic, the final plastic zone length, L8 is much shorter t h a n one-half of
the span length, L. In this circumstance, the present solution reduces to Nonaka's solution
for a rigid-perfectly plastic material with ~, < 1. However, unlike Nonak_a's solution, we have
[w] -- 0 across the plastic shear hinge, and not only the transverse deflections but also the
strain and strain rate can be predicted in the present solution.
Acknowledgments The first author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Sino-
British Friendship Scholarship Scheme to fund his stay in the U.K. The authors are indebted
to the I m p a c t Research Centre at the University of Liverpool and, in particular, to Mrs. M.
White for her secretarial assistance.

REFERENCES
1 Jones N. Structural Impact. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989
2 Nonaka T. Some interaction effects in a problem of plastic beam dynamics, Part 1: Interaction
Analysis of a Rigid-Perfectly Plastic Beam. Y Appl Mech, 1967, 34(3): 623~630
3 Spencer AJM. Dynamics of ideal fibre-reinforced rigid-plastic beams. J Mech Phys Solids, 1974,
22:147~159
4 Jones N. Dynamic behaviour of ideal fibre-reinforced rigid-plastic beams. J Appl Mech, 1976,
43(2): 319N324
5 Landiero F, Jones N. Impulsive loading of an ideal fibre-reinforced rigid-plastic beam. J Struc-
tural Mech, 1977, 5(4): 369N382
6 Menkes SB, Opat HJ. Broken Beams. Ezp Mech, 1973, 13:480N486
7 Jones N. Plastic failure of ductile beams loaded dynamically. Trans ASME, Y Eng Industry,
1976, 98B(1): 131~136
8 Wang Lili, Lu Weixia~, Hu Shisheng, et al. Study of the initiation and development of adiabatic
shear bands for a titanium alloy under high strain rates. In: Kawata K, Shioiri J eds. Macro
and Micro-Mechanics of High Velocity Deformation and Fracture, IUTAM Syrup MMMHYDF,
Tokyo, 1985. Tokyo: Springer Verlag, 1987, 359~406
9 Wang Lili. A criterion of thermo-viscoplastic instability for adiabatic shearing. In: Zheng
Zhemin, Ting Jing eds. Proc International Symposium on Intense Dynamic Loading and Its
Effects, Beijing, 1986. Beijing: Science Press, 1986:787~792
10 Wang Lili, Bao Hesheng, Lu Weixian. The dependence of adiabatic shear bending on strain-rate,
strain and temperature. J Physique, 1988, Colloque C3, 49:207~214
11 Wang Lili, Bao Hesheng. A strain-localization analysis for adiabatic shear band at different
environmental temperatures. In: Jono M, Inoue T eds. Proceedings of 6th International Con-
ference on Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Kyoto, 1991. Tokyo: Pergamon Press, 1991, 1.
479~486
12 Symonds PS. Plastic shear deformations in dynamic load problems. In: Heyman J, Leckie FA
eds. Engineering Plasticity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. 647~664