Abstract

The DYMAT Association was founded in France in 1983. 2023 is therefore its 40th anniversary. The occasion is an opportunity to put the association into a broad historical context. Although various one-off symposia on this topic were held as long ago as the 1920s, regular conferences did not get going until the 1970s (Oxford, UK) and the 1980s (Explomet, USA ; SCCM, USA ; DYMAT, France). The talk will begin with an analysis of DYMAT ’s international conferences to reveal how the materials studied, the techniques used, and the collaborations within and between countries have changed during the last 40 years. The talk will then consider the beginnings of the study and measurement of the high rate mechanical properties of materials in the 19th century when the development of steam engines for hauling trains on iron rail tracks, the armouring of ships in various navies, and improvements in artillery led to the realisation that the dynamic mechanical properties of iron and steel were significantly different to their static properties. The talk will show that the present widely used techniques had their origins in the two World Wars.