Numerical investigation of the shockwave overpressure fields of multi-sources FAE explosions

Shockwaves from fuel-air explosive(FAE) cloud explosions may cause significant casualties.The ground overpressure field is usually used to evaluate the damage range of explosion shockwaves.In this paper,a finite element model of multi-sources FAE explosion is established to simulate the process of multiple shockwaves propagation and interaction.The model is verified with the experimental data of a fourfoldsource FAE explosion,with the total fuel mass of 340 kg.Simulation results show that the overpressure fields of multi-sources FAE explosions are different from that of the single-source.In the case of multisources,the overpressure fields are influenced significantly by source scattering distance and source number.Subsequently,damage ranges of overpressure under three different levels are calculated.Within a suitable source scattering distance,the damage range of multi-sources situation is greater than that of the single-source,under the same amount of total fuel mass.This research provides a basis for personnel shockwave protection from multi-sources FAE explosion.