DROP TOWER: THEORY

Fig. 2: Free-body diagram of drop platform in free flight ‘ ‘ ree-flight’ ’ drop tower facilities, such as that shown in Figure 1, provide a quick and inexpensive means of conducting dynamic impact tests of relativelyF small test specimens. The information gained is val-uable both in validating models for and predictions of dy-namic crush and for determining the dynamic crush re-sponse itself in those cases where an analytical prediction capability and previous test experience do not exist. Drop facilities have been extensively used in the transportation industry as an important tool in developing crashworthy ve-hicles.