Impact mechanics is concerned with the reaction forces that develop during a collision and the dynamic response of structures to these reaction forces. The subject has a wide range of engineering applications, from designing sports equipment to improving the crashworthiness of automobiles. This book develops several different methodologies for analysing collisions between structures. These range from rigid body theory for structures that are stiff and compact, to vibration and wave analyses for flexible structures. The emphasis is on low-speed impact where damage is local to the small region of contact between the colliding bodies. The analytical methods presented give results that are more robust or less sensitive to initial conditions than have been achieved hitherto. As a text, Impact Mechanics builds upon foundation courses in dynamics and strength of materials. It includes numerous industrially relevant examples and end-of-chapter homework problems drawn from industry and sports. Practising engineers will also find the methods presented in this book useful in calculating the response of a mechanical system to impact. Impact mechanics is concerned with the reaction forces that develop during a collision and the dynamic response of structures to these reaction forces. The subject has a wide range of engineering applications, from designing sports equipment to improving the crashworthiness of automobiles.This book develops several different methodologies for analyzing collisions between structures. These range from rigid body theory for structures that are stiff and compact, to vibration and wave analyses for flexible structures. The emphasis is on low-speed impact where damage is local to the small region of contact between the colliding bodies. The analytical methods presented give results that are more robust (less sensitive to initial conditions) than have been achieved hitherto.Intended primarily as a text for advanced undergradute and graduate students, Impact Mechanics builds upon foundation courses in dynamics and strength of materials. It includes numerous industrially relevant examples and end-of-chapter homework problems drawn from industry and from sports such as golf, baseball, and billiards. Practicing engineers will also find the methods presented in this book very useful in calculating the response of a mechanical system to impact. Impact mechanics is concerned with the reaction forces generated by a collision and the dynamic response of structures to these forces. This text develops several different methodologies for analyzing collisions between structures. The emphasis is on low-speed impact where damage is local to the small region of contact between the colliding bodies. The book's analytical methods give results more robust or less sensitive to initial conditions than have been achieved previously. Impact Mechanics builds on foundation courses in dynamics and strength of materials. Its numerous relevant practical examples and end-of-chapter homework problems are drawn from industry and sports. "Intended primarily as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, Impact Mechanics builds upon foundation courses in dynamics and strength of materials. It includes numerous industrially relevant examples and end-of-chapter homework problems drawn from industry and from sports such as golf, baseball, and billiards. Practicing engineers will also find the methods presented in this book very useful in calculating the response of a mechanical system to impact."--Jacket. This text develops several methodologies for analysing collisions between structures, ranging from rigid body theory for structures that are stiff and compact, to vibration and wave analyses for flexible structures. The emphasis is on low-speed impact where damage is local to the small region of contact between the colliding bodies. When a bat strikes a ball or a hammer hits a nail, the surfaces of two bodies come together with some relative velocity at an initial instant termed incidence.