AbstractA study of the collapse behaviour of hemi spherical and shallow spherical shells and their modes of deformation under impact loading are presented in this paper. Aluminium spherical shells of various radii and thicknesses were made by spinning. These were subjected to impact loading under a drop hammer and the load histories were obtained in all the cases. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were carried out for all the tested specimen geometries using LS-DYNA®. Material, geometric and contact nonlinearities were incorporated in the analysis. The uni-axial stress–strain curve for the material was obtained experimentally and was assumed to be piecewise linear in the plastic region. The results from impact experiments are used for the validation of the numerical simulations. Three distinct modes of deformation, namely local flattening, inward dimpling and formation of multiple numbers of lobes were analysed and influence of various parameters on these modes is discussed.