A Comparison of Simulation’s Results with Experiment on Water Mitigation of an Explosion

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison of simulation’s results with the experimental data from a series of small-scale tests conducted by Joachim and Lunderman of the United States Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station. The purpose of the experiments was to evaluate the effect of water as a mean of reducing airblast pressure from accidental explosions in underground magazines. In the present study, a series of three-dimensional numerical calculations were conducted using a Multimaterial Eulerian Finite Element Code. Results from the numerical simulations show good comparison with the experimental data for the case with and without water. Our simulation ascertains the mitigation effects of water in reducing the maximum peak pressure and impulse density due to an explosion.