Lecture 16

Blast Waves

Terrorist bombing attack has substantially increased recently throughout the world. Thousands of people have been killed since 1980s in the terrorist bombing, and many more injured. As a results, more and more research effort has been paid on protecting structures and occupants from blast loads

Accidental Explosion

Blast Damage

Earthquake damage

Explosion in air results in a shock wave that propagates away from the center of explosion

Surface explosion

Air explosion

At any point in free air away from the explosion center, the pressure generated from explosion has the shape Ps0

ta tr t0+ t0-

ta arrival time, tr rise time (very small, usually zero) t0+ - positive phase duration, t0- negative phase duration Ps0 Peak overpressure (measured from ambient pressure)

Blast induced overpressure and shock wave propagation in air have been intensively studied. Many empirical formulae are available to predict Ps0 in free air. For example, from Brode Numerical solution of spherical blast waves,
6.7 +1 3 Z 0.975 1.455 5.85 + 2 + 3 0.019 PS 0 = Z Z Z R ( m / kg 1 / 3 ) Z=3 W PS 0 = ( kp / cm 2 ), ( kp / cm 2 ), PS 0 10kp / cm 2 0.1 PS 0 10kp/cm 2

Z is the scaled distance, R is the stand-off distance in meters (distance between explosion center and the target) and W is the equivalent TNT charge weight in kg, kp is a force unit, 1kp=9.80665N, and 1kp/cm2=9.80665x104 Pa

Empirical formulae by Henrych The dynamics of explosion and its use

14.0717 5.5397 0.3572 0.00625 PS 0 = + + 2 3 Z Z Z Z4 6.1938 0.3262 2.1324 PS 0 = + 2 Z Z Z3 0.662 4.05 3.288 PS 0 = + 2 + Z Z Z3 ( kp / cm 2 ) ( kp / cm 2 ) ( kp / cm 2 ) 0.05 Z 0.3 0.3 Z 1 1 Z 10

Because of the unstable nature of explosives, the various formulae from different authors to estimate blast pressure vary when the scaled distance is small (<0.5 m/kg1/3). When the scaled distance is larger than 1.0 m/kg1/3, all the formulae give quite consistent predictions.

If a shock wave impinges on a rigid surface oriented at an angle to the direction of the wave, a reflected pressure is instantly developed on the surface. The pressure acting on the surface is raised to an value exceeding Ps0. The peak reflected pressure Pr is a function Ps0 and the angle between rigid surface and the shock wave front, . In engineering application, ta is not important, and tr is usually neglected because it is very small. The idealized pressure distribution is as Pr Ps0

t0+

t0++t0-

There are also some formulae to estimate shock wave reflection. For example, from The dynamic of explosions and its use by Henrych, it has

8PS20 + 14 PS 0 Pr = PS 0 + 7.2

( kp / cm 2 )

This formula corresponds to the ideal case with normal shock wave incidence. From this formula, the ratio Cra=Pr/Ps0 is in the range of 2 to 8. It should be noted that the shock wave reflection could be very complicated. For example, if air ionizes and dissociates as shock strength increases, the reflection coefficient Cra=Pr/Ps0 could be as high as 20.

In practice, Ps0 and Pr are usually obtained by field blast test. Ps0 can now be quite reliably predicted using numerical method. Pr is relatively difficult to be determined. It depends on many factors such as the incident angle, shock wave intensity, and structure configuration, etc. The most popularly used method to estimate blast pressure is the US Design Codes, such as TM-5-1300, TM-5-863, DOE-1126, etc. They use the same charts to estimate blast loads on structures.

Other Parameters of Importance 1. Positive phase duration t0+ 2. Impulse of the incident wave, is, and the reflected wave, ir.
is =

+ t a + t0

ta

Ps 0 (t )dt ,

ir =

+ t a + t0

ta

Pr (t )dt

3. Positive wave length Lw (length at a given distance from the detonation which at a particular instant is experiencing positive pressures. 4. Shock wave velocity, U. 5. Arrival time ta. 6. Dynamic pressure q0. 7. Empirical reflection factor Cra=Pr/Ps0. Lw

Dynamic pressure q0 is the force acting on a structure associated with a plane shock wave. It depends on both the peak values and the pressure time variation of the incident pressures. Dynamic pressure is associated with the wind induced by blast wave. It also depends on the air density.

Figure 2-7. Positive phase shock wave parameters for a spherical TNT explosion in free air at sea level
1.E+5 Pr, psi Pso, psi Ir, psi-ms/lb^(1/3) Is, psi-ms/lb^(1/3) ta, ms/lb^(1/3) to, ms/lb^(1/3) U, ft/ms Lw, ft/lb^(1/3)

10000

1000

100

10

1.0

0.1

.01

.001 0.1

1.0

10

100

Scaled Distance Z = R/W^(1/3)

Unit Conversion 1 lb =4.448 N, 1ft=0.3048 m, 1ft=12 in, Psi=lb/in2 1kg=2.2lb, 1 psi=6894 Pa 1 in=2.54 cm

Conversion factors (TNT equivalence) for some high explosives

Explosives Amcol Baronai Comp B RDX Explosive D HMX Lead Azide Lead Styphnace Mercury fulminace TNT equivalent 0.586 1.051 1.148 1.185 0.740 1.256 0.340 0.423 0.395 Explosives Nitroglycerine PETN Octol Pencolite Picric Acid Silver Acid Tetryl Torpex Tritonai TNT equivalent 1.481 1.282 0.994 1.129 0.926 0.419 1.000 1.667 1.693

Example
Estimate the peak overpressure Ps0, positive phase duration t0+, arrival time ta and impulse is for a 25 kg RDX explosion at 5 m in free air.

2 Surface Explosion Charge is located on or very near the ground surface. The initial shock wave is reflected and reinforced by ground surface to produce a reflected wave. Unlike the airblast, the reflected wave and incident wave merges at the point of detonation to form a single wave. Because ground surface reflection intensifies the shock wave, at the same scaled distance R/W1/3, the surface explosion generates larger pressures than free-air explosion.

Figure 2-15. Positive phase shock wave parameters for a hemispherical TNT explosion on the surface at sea level
1.E+6 Pr, psi Pso, psi Ir, psi-ms/lb^(1/3) Is, psi-ms/lb^(1/3) ta, ms/lb^(1/3) to, ms/lb^(1/3) U, ft/ms Lw, ft/lb^(1/3)

1.E+5

10000

1000

100

10

1.0

0.1

.01

.001 0.1

1.0

10

100

Scaled Distance Z = R/W^(1/3)

Example Estimate the peak pressure Ps0, positive phase duration t0+, arrival time ta and impulse is at 5 m from a 25 kg RDX explosion on ground surface,

Blast wavestructure interaction Blast wave encountering a solid surface will reflect from and diffract around it Wave front Reflection Pr Incidence Ps0 incidence angle R reflection angle

Solid surface

Reflection coefficient Cra=Pr/Ps0, For zero incidence (=0.0), it has

8PS20 + 14 PS 0 ( kp / cm 2 ) Pr = PS 0 + 7.2 Cra is between 2 and 8 according to this formula. However, Pr of up to 20 times Ps0 have also been measured, as discussed above.

Note: 1) For a given Ps0, there exists a value of above which this reflection process does not occur. Instead Mach Reflection takes place. 2) There exists a value above which Pr is greater than the Pr generated for head-on (=0) reflection. For air, this critical angle is 3923 (also depending on Ps0) 3) For a given Ps0, there exists a value that Cra is a minimum.

Depending on the stand-off distance and the building height, the blast pressure may not be uniformly distributed on the building.

Mach Reflection
When an explosion occurs in air above the structure such that no amplification of the shock occurs between the explosion and the structure.

As shown, when air blast wave reaches the ground surface, a reflection occurs. The interaction between the incident and reflected pressure wave results in a formation of a Mach stem. The Mach stem propagates normal to the surface and terminates in a triple point, at some distance above the ground. This triple point is the conjunction of the Mach stem, the reflected wave and the incident wave.

Note: 1) The pressure and hence the positive phase impulse in the Mach stem is larger than the corresponding incident wave quantities. 2) These quantities will also be greater than those produced by a surface charge. In other words, for an explosion above the ground, the intensity of the blast wave in the Mach stem is greater at a given horizontal distance than if the explosion occurs on the ground. 3) If the charge is positioned directly on the ground, the Mach stem does not form and the blast wave travels along the ground.

If the height of the structure is lower than the triple point, the pressure wave acting on the structure is a plane wave, and the structure is under uniform blast load. The pressure acting on the structure is calculated using the distance R between the explosion center and the point on the ground surface, as shown.

Example
A spherical charge of TNT equivalent weight of 20 kg is positioned 5 m above the midspan of a 6 m long simply supported beam as shown. Determine the peak reflected pressure Pr at midspan and at the beam ends. 20kg 5m

6m