High-speed impact dynamics is of interest in the fundamental sciences,
e.g., astrophysics and space sciences, and has a number of important
applications in military technologies, homeland security and
engineering. When compared with experiments or numerical simulations,
analytical approaches in impact mechanics only seldom yield useful
results. However, when successful, analytical approaches allow us to
determine general laws that are not only important in themselves but
also serve as benchmarks for subsequent numerical simulations and
experiments. The main goal of this monograph is to demonstrate the
potential and effectiveness of analytical methods in applied high-speed
penetration mechanics for two classes of problem. The first class of
problem is shape optimization of impactors penetrating into ductile,
concrete and some composite media. The second class of problem comprises
investigation of ballistic properties and optimization of multi-layered
shields, including spaced and two-component ceramic shields. Despite the
massive use of mathematical techniques, the obtained results have a
clear engineering meaning and are presented in an easy-to-use form. One
of the chapters is devoted solely to some common approximate models, and
this is the first time that a comprehensive description of the localized
impactor/medium interaction approach is given. In the monograph the
authors present systematically their theoretical results in the field of
high-speed impact dynamics obtained during the last decade which only
partially appeared in scientific journals and conferences proceedings.
