A History of Research and a Review of Recent Developments

viii
Preface
but there are brief passages on the analysis of response, residual strength and
safety. The work and achievements of major contributors to the subject over
the past century are discussed, because it is important to realize that the subject
has been taken forward by a collection of mathematicians, physicists, chemists,
military researchers and manufacturing experts as well as by engineering
scientists specializing in the interaction of loads and structures.
The fundamental science of explosive loading has been relatively slow to
develop because the level of independent academic investigation of the subject
in universities and similar institutions has been less than some would have
wished. Apart from the cost of facilities and the difficulty of ensuring safety,
many authorities supporting research with a military flavour have been the
subject of attention from pacifist groups. These groups, of course, never have
to grasp the nettle of responsibility for the protection of our population, our
heritage and our way of life from destruction by explosion or threat by terrorism.
It is therefore hoped that this survey will help to increase interest in the subject
by the academic workers in structural behaviour.
In the preparation of this book, I have received much administrative help
from the Mott MacDonald Group, and benefited from continuing contacts
with the Defence Research Agency and one or two universities. I am indebted
to two word-processor experts, Miss Rosemary Mardles and Mrs Sue Starks,
who have given legibility to the script, and to the editorial staff of Chapman
& Hall, who waited patiently for the final draft.
P.S.Bulson
Winchester
1997
Note: Because this is a work with many references to history, readers are
asked to accept a mixture of fps and SI units in the text. A conversion table is
provided at the end of the notation section on p. xv.