Modeling of the whole process of shock wave overpressure of free-field air explosion

Abstract

The waveform of the explosion shock wave under free-field air explosion is an extremely complex problem. It is generally considered that the waveform consists of overpressure peak, positive pressure zone and negative pressure zone. Most of current practice usually considers only the positive pressure. Many empirical relations are available to predict overpressure peak, the positive pressure action time and pressure decay law. However, there are few models that can predict the whole waveform. The whole process of explosion shock wave overpressure, which was expressed as the product of the three factor functions of peak, attenuation and oscillation, was proposed in the present work. According to the principle of explosion similarity, the scaled parameters were introduced and the empirical formula was absorbed to form a mathematical model of shock wave overpressure. Parametric numerical simulations of free-field air explosions were conducted. By experimental verification of the AUTODYN numerical method and comparing the analytical and simulated curves, the model is proved to be accurate to calculate the shock wave overpressure under free-field air explosion. In addition, through the model the shock wave overpressure at different time and distance can be displayed in three dimensions. The model makes the time needed for theoretical calculation much less than that for numerical simulation. Keywords: Air explosion, Shock wave overpressure, Free field, Experimental verification, Numerical simulation