Impact damping and airplane towing : two studies of the response of solid bodies to transient loads

Sammanfattning: The impact of a linearly elastic hammer on a linearly viscoelastic plate is the first problem considered in this thesis. The results, obtained by using the Laplace transformation method, can be used in the design of impact protection devices. The second problem considered is the towing of targets by wires during airplane accelerations in a straight path. The results, obtained by again applying the Laplace transformation method, can be used as conservative estimates to avoid failure of the wire. Towing of targets by wires during semi-circular airplane turns is the third problem considered. The results, which are obtained by applying the finite difference method, are checked through full-scale tests. These results can be used to predict the target path and to avoid wire failure during semi-circular turn manoeuvres.