The response of structural materials to external mechanical load may strongly depend on the rate at which the load is imposed. For example, a specimen may exhibit ductile fracture if loaded at quasi-static rate (strain rate below 1.0/s), but may show brittle fracture under impact (high-rate) loading. According to the classic monograph of Professor Marc Meyers, if the strain rate is above 100/s, it can be put into the high-strain rate regime. The mechanical behavior of structural materials under such loading conditions is dubbed dynamic.

Investigations into the dynamic behaviors of materials dates back to the 19th century. It was shown that stress wave propagation becomes predominant.