The Fractures Produced in Glass and Plastics by the Passage of Stress Waves

JSGT 1952 V36 T065-T073

The fracture phenomena observed in specimens of glass and plastics when small quantities of explosive were detonated in contact with them or when they were hit by high-speed projectiles are described. It is shown that the nature of the fractures produced by stress waves differs in several important respects from that found statically, and that many of the phenomena may be explained in terms of the theory of the propagation of stress waves in solids and of their reflection at free boundaries.

D. G. Christie & H. Kolsky