The work presents the investigation in the response of plate-shell structures subjected to impact loading (gas mixture explosions). This phenomenon is studied in the context of its mechanical aspects, mainly the ductile fracture prediction. The work starts with the literature review and the description of theories, which are nowadays the most popular in the damage and failure modelling. After selecting the theoretical models and the numerical tools for the further analysis, the detailed report of all realised experimental tests and their results is presented. Then, for the assumed constitutive and damage laws, the identification of material and fracture criteria parameters is realised. Finally, the numerical simulations are performed and their results, verified by the experiments, are summarised and commented. The work finishes with the conclusions, where the best approaches (from those, which have been tested) are pointed, all assumptions or limitations used in the study are discussed and the objectives for the further research are indicated.