The International Journal of Impact Engineering exists for the publication of original research work concerned with the response of structures and bodies to dynamic loads arising from exposure to blast, collision or other impact events. The topics encompassed by the journal include the elastic and plastic response of structures and bodies to impact and blast loading, terminal ballistics, vehicle crashworthiness, containment and other processes and phenomena in which effects due to impact predominate, such as explosive welding. In addition, related matters such as research into fire hazards in association with impact loads will be included. Every paper accepted for publication is strictly refereed and assessed for its contribution to the understanding of impact phenomena or the insight gained for engineering design in areas of high rate loading. Papers whose concerns are only in the fields of mathematics, materials science or computation are not requested. Similarly, papers whose contents are purely descriptive will not be accepted. This journal should be of interest to engineers, designers and research workers in the fields of structural crashworthiness, energy-absorbing systems, structural failure, hazard assessments and safety calculations which involve impact loadings. Thus, papers in this journal will be of interest to aeronautical engineers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, naval architects, nuclear engineers, ocean engineers, offshore engineers, transportation engineers and workers in other branches of engineering and science who are involved in impact loading of various kinds. This journal is now included in the new online alerting service - Structural Integrity Alert - which forms part of the Structural Integrity Network. To access SiNET just go to http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/sinet