In risk studies, engineers often have to consider the consequences of an accident leading to a shock on a construction. This can concern the impact of a ground vehicle or aircraft, or the effects of an explosion on an industrial site.

This book presents a didactic approach starting with the theoretical elements of the mechanics of materials and structures, in order to develop their applications in the cases of shocks and impacts. The latter are studied on a local scale at first. They lead to stresses and strains in the form of waves propagating through the material, this movement then extending to the whole of the structure.

The first part of the book is devoted to the study of solid dynamics where nonlinear behaviors come into play. The second part covers structural dynamics and the evaluation of the transient response introduced at the global scale of a construction. Practical methods, simplified methods and methods that are in current use by engineers are also proposed throughout the book.