ABSTRACT
This paper makes recommendations on how useful and yet simple concepts on impact dynamics could be taught at different stages in the civil engineering undergraduate degree program. The energy (and strength) demand on two objects involved in a collision could be estimated by the combined application of the principles of conservation of momentum and the conservation of energy. This simple approach of analyzing low velocity impact could be delivered in the first year of the undergraduate degree program. Once the students have become familiar with the basic principles of statics and simple beam-theory, the important role of the inertia forces in shaping the shear force and bending moment diagrams of a beam/column subject to impact loading could be introduced. The ability to model the effects of the inertia force is central to understanding failure mechanisms associated with low and medium velocity impact. One of the key learning objectives is to equip students with the ability to critically review results simulated from the computer.
