Blast simulation using advanced Finite Element Methods

We earlier discussed the differences between Implicit and Explicit analysis and Newton Raphson method for implicit analysis. In this blog post we will discuss advanced simulation methods for performing a blast loading simulation on a simple steel plate. There are numerous application areas for performing a blast simulation, some examples are (a) designing military/infantry vehicles capable of resisting mine blast explosions, (b) design of blast resistant concrete structures or (c) design of bridges. It is not feasible to test the designs directly by conducting a physical/field blast test unless the design is fool proof, it would result into tremendous costs if primitive designs are tested on field. A finite element simulation is thus a cost effective option for designing blast resistant structures.

Lets consider an example of vehicle subjected to a mine blast for the purpose of understanding. In this simulation, a TNT explosive charge would be placed on ground beneath the vehicle. For the purpose of simplicity we would consider a simple plate and a small charge of 1 kg TNT. There are two most common methods to simulate the blast loading effect:

1. Use of a simplified CONWEP function
2. Use of Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method

Article in progress. Meanwhile please refer my thesis on blast simulation: http://bit.ly/thesis_amogh