Explosion Phenomena and Effects of Explosions on Structures. III: Methods of Analysis (Explosion Damage to Structures) and Example Cases

This is Part III of a three-part paper on the phenomena of explosions and effects of explosions on structures. The overall paper is intended to provide the reader with a practical overview of the various types of explosions and methods available to predict explosion effects, with emphasis on air blast. The response of structures to air blast is discussed and methods of analysis are presented. Since the subject area is broad, reference sources for more in-depth information on many of the topics presented are provided. In this paper, Part III, methods are presented for predicting the response of structures to explosion effects. The methods that are discussed include peak pressure as a criterion, lumped mass, pressure-impulse as criteria, and finite-element analysis. Some example cases are given. A comprehensive tabulation of damage produced by different peak pressure levels is provided in Appendices I and II. A discussion of the appropriate use of such peak pressure data in predicting structural response is presented, together with some cautions.