Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar(SHPB) test was simulated to investigate the distribution of the first principal stress and damage zone of specimen subjected to dynamic compressive load. Numerical models of plate-type specimen containing cracks with inclined angles of 0°,45° and 90° were also established to investigate the crack propagation and damage evolution under dynamic loading. The results show that the simulation results are in accordance with the failure patterns of specimens in experimental test. The interactions between stress wave and crack with different inclined angles are different; damage usually appears around the crack tips firstly; and then more damage zones develop away from the foregoing damage zone after a period of energy accumulation; eventually,the damage zones run through the specimen in the direction of applied loading and split the specimen into pieces.
