At work I'm required to calculate the require thickness of glass to absorb a certain impact from a falling mass. I've approached the problem using energy equations. In my calc's i've assumed that all potential energy is converted into elastic deformation (potential energy) in my glass plate...
I put up some info on my website, some of it is related to automation engineering. Let me know if you find any of it helpful.
Steve
http://www.macamar.com/
