Impact processes are highly transient processes requiring high time resolution for diagnostics techniques. Fraunhofer EMI performs impact and other highly dynamic experiments under laboratory conditions, allowing close-proximity observation of events with the dissipation of high amounts of energy leading to failure of structure and materials upon extreme dynamic loading. High-speed camera techniques have improved massively over the last decades, especially the capability for microsecond video. This development has paralleled the evolvement of the tools for the numerical simulation of impact processes. The presentation reviews many examples from various research projects and shows how the application of high-speed imaging has evolved over the years and how it has brought in-situ insights into the dynamics of impact processes, accompanied by the complementary use of flash X-ray diagnostics. This gives insight into the material response of different classes of materials upon impact and provides a thorough base for modeling dynamic material behavior including failure.
