Experimentation and numerical modeling on the response of woven glass/epoxy composite plate under blast impact loading

Abstract

Background Composite material is being used in vehicles for protective structures against blast loading. Limited data is available which compare experimental works and numerical analysis in the open field environment. More data is needed in this area in order to be able to predict and use composite materials safely. Methods In this work, the response of woven glass/epoxy composite plates under blast loading was investigated, both experimentally and numerically. The plate was manufactured using glass/epoxy woven Cytec 120 °C curing system. The explosive material was Tri-Nitro-Toluen (TNT) with different masses, which are 60, 80, and 100 g. The stand-off distance was also varied, ranging from 300 up to 1000 mm. In the experimental work, a sewing needle pin was put under the plate to record the maximum deformation of the plate during TNT explosion. In the numerical analysis, LS-DYNA was used extensively. The composite plate was modeled as shell elements using MAT54, and the failure criteria was Chang-Chang failure criteria. The explosive TNT material was modeled in two different ways. First, it was modeled using CONWEP and the second was modeled using Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). The numerical analysis results were then compared with the experimental data for the case of maximum deformation. Results Experimentally, the sewing needle method was able to measure the plate maximum deformation during the explosion. The numerical analysis showed that the SPH model gave better agreement with experimental results compared with CONWEP method. The SPH results were in the range of 8–18% compared to experimental data, while the CONWEP results were in the range of 14–43%. Conclusion Albeit its simplicity, sewing needle method was able to measure the maximum deformation for blast loading experimentation. The SPH model was better compared with CONWEP method in analyzing the response of composite plate subjected to blast loading.

Numerical Simulation on Selection of Optimal Delay Time for Precise Delay Blasting

“…In the work of Gao and Lei [12], finite element software was used to simulate the cutting and excavation process and analyze the stress field and domino effects (such as von Mises) in the rock during the millisecond delay blasting process, along with the propagation regularity of the particle vibration velocity. In addition, numerical software can also be applied to simulate the tunnel excavation in the blasting tests and the crack propagation under blasting load [13][14][15].…”

Dynamic responses and damage evolution of conformal radome composites under blast loading

“…There are multiple approaches for the blast and impulsive loads simulation, including the CONWEP method [42][43][44][45] and the Lagrangian-Eulerian method (LEM). [46][47][48][49] These two types of methods have individual benefits and shortcomings in explosion simulation calculations.…”

Effect of Blast Loading on Seismically Detailed RC Columns and Buildings

“…The blast load is modelled by two methods according to finite element modelling (air blast function or no air volume at numerical simulation), the first numerical modelling approach is presented as LOAD_BLAST defined as air blast function for the application of pressure loads due to explosives in conventional weapons as shown in Equation 4 [39,40]. The input data is defined according to location (x, y, z), the equivalent mass of TNT, the unit conversion flag and type of burst (hemispherical charge situated on the surface or spherical charge at least one charge diameter away from the surface) [41].…”