ABSTRACT
Static or quasistatic loading means that the load is applied slowly. On the other hand, dynamic or shock loading implies fast or abrupt application. Those adjectives are relevant with respect to the natural period of a structural element under consideration. When the load increases to its maximum value over ve or six natural periods, it is a quasistatic load. When it does so over a fraction of the period, it is a shock loading. (Broader denitions exist, where anything with up to two periods duration is a shock loading.)
When speaking of a shock load, engineers usually have in mind a load that is of a large magnitude, but with a very short duration. But this is not the only circumstance where the term applies. The load can last for a very long time, but if it is suddenly applied or suddenly removed, the term “shock” is appropriate as well. The broadest denition seems to be that a shock is any abrupt change of a force, a position, a velocity, or an acceleration affecting the body under consideration, Silva [78].
