STRAIN-RATE DEPENDENCE OF THE SPALL STRENGTH OF STEELS

The data on the dynamic (spall) strength for more than 30 steels are r eported. These data were interpreted in terms of the fracture mechanic s. The experimental data are interpreted in terms of the energy-based spall theory which predicts the dependence of the spall strength on th e strain rate in the spall plane. Even if most of the tested steels ex hibit the agreement with this theory there are some exceptions. In ord er to explain this disagreement a modification of the theory mentioned above bas been suggested. The obtained model predicts the observed st eel behaviour.