A reactive hydrodynamic simulation of noise propagation for a concrete-confined detonation

Abstract

When a point source detonation occurs, high temperature and pressure gases are released and then propagate through the open atmosphere as a blast wave. This leads to an explosive sound in the form of environmental noise, which has been known to cause hearing damage to nearby residents surrounding the explosion area. In an effort to reduce such noise levels, explosion test sites are installed with sound barriers to mitigate and minimize the noise associated with the blasts. In this study, realistic explosion pressure was calculated at an initial detonation source inside a concrete sound barrier, and a numerical prediction was made to evaluate the environmental noise propagation in an actual terrain. In particular, we applied the concrete equation of state to the governing conservation equations for a spherical detonation in a confined geometry and compared the experimental data taken within 3 m from the test site and a few kilometers away from the sound source. Moreover, the amount of noise reduction was predicted by first considering the absorbed explosion pressure by the sound barrier, which later dissipated at a far distance at which the noise propagation in an actual terrain was compared with the measurements.