Abstract: A method and apparatus for creating dynamic shear within metallic and non-metallic test sample materials under controlled conditions related to high ballistic impact includes the use of test sample having an end face with non-symmetrically placed surfaces extending away from a leading edge of the end face.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for creating dynamic shear within metallic and non-metallic test sample materials under controlled conditions related to high velocity ballistic impact; metallurgical analysis techniques for studying the resultant sheared regions, analytic models for interpretation and characterization of the shear phenomena, and resulting constitutive relations are described. The test sample and receptor or target shapes together with the physical arrangement and conditions of impact are varied to provide a unique shear localization within the samples such that the shear process occurs along controlled and specific directions. The shear is observed and characterized through use of newly developed preparation techniques so that the samples and the localized shear can be examined with standard metallurgical instruments such as metallography and electron microscopy.