Impact and Shock Mechanics research in the Solid Mechanics and Materials research group, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford.

Impact events affect all our lives and can have both human and financial costs.  Mitigating the effects of these events requires an understanding of the response of materials to very rapid deformations using techniques that can probe small time and length scales.

Our research focuses on an integrated experimental-numerical approach for predictive modelling of extreme mechanical events, such as the deformation-rate and temperature-dependent responses of solid materials and structures under load.  We are world-leading in the design of bespoke experiments aimed at observation and quantification of pressure, temperature and rate-dependent deformation and failure mechanisms in a range of systems from natural materials, including live-tissue, to advanced, man-made engineering materials such as high-performance metallic super-alloys, composites, ceramics and hybrid cellular materials.  We utilise a comprehensive array of loading platforms, from hydraulicly driven to hypervelocity impact systems, to collectively access dynamic conditions extending from a few MPa to 100s of GPa.  As well as designing new experiments for arbitrary combined thermomechanical loads, we also exploit the latest advances in optical and X-ray diagnostics to provide new opportunities for model development and validation, to ultimately enhance our understanding of the multi-scale, hierarchical nature of material response under dynamic loading.  To enable this research, we collaborate with numerous labs both in the UK and internationally.

The study of strain-rate dependent behaviour of materials has a long history at the University of Oxford, initiated by Professor Jenkin, and continued by Professors Campbell, Harding, and Ruiz.  They laid the foundations for our current research in Impact and Shock Mechanics, an integral part of the Solid Mechanics and Materials Engineering Group.