Blast propagation through windows and doors: Fid-Bau Portal

Blast propagation through windows and doors

Needham, C.E.

A challenging blast propagation problem is the detailed description of a blast wave propagating through a window or doorway either from the inside to the exterior, from the exterior to the interior or from room to room. A number of three dimensional first principles calculations of blast loading on structures have been carried out and compared with experimental data. The combined calculational and experimental results were used as a data base for a number of geometric variations of building size, opening size and charge location. Derived from this large data base, ARA has developed a fast running model. This paper describes the development of a fast running model based on physical principles and conservation laws. Comparisons of the results of the fast running model with the waveforms in the data base illustrate the principles used in the model. Results of the model are then compared to first principles waveforms and with experimental waveforms from recent multiroom internal detonations which were not a part of the data used for development of the model. Application of physical principles leads to a much more robust and adaptable model than fitting parameters to a data base. This work was sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).