Theoretical and Experimental Studies on Blast Wave Propagation in Air

Abstract

High pressure and temperature are produced when high explosives are detonated in open air. The heat of detonation of the explosive compound, peak pressure, and temperature of the blast wave are important blast parameters. A blast wave generated due to explosion propagates into the air medium at supersonic speed until the pressure in the blast zone is released completely. The intensity of the impact by the blast wave on any intervening solid object depends on the blast parameters and the speed of propagation of the blast wave. A theoretical analysis is carried out to predict the pressure produced in the expanding blast zone as function of distance and time by analytically solving the governing equations. The initial peak pressure and temperature of blast wave, which are required in the theoretical analysis, were calculated making use of the blast wave theory. For comparison, experiments were conducted by detonating different weights of high explosives, and pressures were recorded at various distances from the blast point. The high explosives used in the experiments were TNT (0.045, 0.5, 1, 15, and 40 kg) and Composition B (0.045, 0.5, 1, and 15 kg). The theoretical results are validated by comparison with the experimental data and empirical equations available in literature.

Experimental Records from Blast Tests of Ten Reinforced Concrete Slabs

“…Slab 1 was subjected to an explosive with a scaled-distance of Z = 0.93 m/kg 1/3 . It was expected that the surface of the blast wave front expands in all directions due to the expansion of gases, and will become planar after a threshold distance, according to Wang et al [27] and Dharma Rao et al [28]. However, for near-field blast tests a non-uniform distribution is expected [10].…”

EPS foam blast attenuation in full-scale field test of reinforced concrete slabs

“…Schenker et al (2008) verified in full-scale field tests that aluminum foam could reduce 50% the acceleration of the slab retrofitted with the foam. The blast wave created by detonation of a high explosive moves forward and expands in a spherical shape, but at a farther distance, the front wave becomes plain (Rao, Kumar, Rao, & Prasad, 2015). Simulations made by Wu and Sheikh (2013) verified the attenuation of blast wave using aluminum foam retrofitting on reinforced concrete panels and comparing results to full-scale tests.…”

Analysis on lethality characteristics of shell-split warheads under explosive loads

“…In this article, the case-splitting warhead is suspended. Combined with the propagation law of explosive detonation shock waves in the air [7][8], the influence of shock waves on test results needs to be excluded in this paper. The method of using the target boards to test the speed is applied, and the target boards for testing speed are directly opposite to the two lobes of the split case warhead, 1.8 meters away from the center of the specimen.…”