NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF EXPLOSIVE BLAST WAVES

Abstract

This work focuses on the creation and propagation of blast waves and their interaction with objects, which is crucial for developing new explosives. To experimentally characterize these blast waves, the Fraunhofer ICT has enhanced its detonation chamber with a pressure lance that measures blast pressure over time at 1 meter from the explosive charge. Experimental findings are complemented by numerical simulations to identify explosive-specific parameters like the Miller term and to transfer the results to other scenarios. The Fraunhofer ICT utilizes various programs, including IMPETUS, SPEED, and OpenFOAM, for simulating blast waves. This work aims to evaluate the accuracy and usability of these programs by modeling the detonation chamber and simulating the experiment that is solved using different solvers. The results are then compared to the experimental results based on their accuracy and performance.