Samenvatting
The External Peripheral Instrument for Deformation Measurement (EPIDM) system is composed of a sensing device and an analysis process which determines the complete geometric description of the periphery of a cross- section of a body as it deforms or is deformed in time. The details of the operational theory and construction of the EPIDM system are discussed as are the experimental results documenting the system's accuracy and dynamic response characteristics. Procedures for developing explicit relationships between the output of the EPIDM system and classical material state variables defining a structural failure are discussed.