Sensitivity analysis of blast loading parameters and their trends as uncertainty increases

Abstract

A sensitivity analysis of blast loading parameters is performed to determine which of the parameters'uncertainty has the greatest e¤ect on the maximum de ‡ection of an aluminum plate subjected to a blast load. A numerical simulation using the Monte Carlo method is used to obtain the ensemble averages of the probabilistic runs. The random variables were given a uniform distribution. Two simpli…ed loading models are used. The …rst has an instantaneous rise with an exponential decay, represented by the modi…ed Friedlander equation. The second loading model has a linear rise with an exponential decay. Both of these models are simulated with three di¤erent blast scaled values, giving a total of six di¤erent cases. In addition, the de ‡ection trends due to the loading parameters as uncertainty increases is quanti…ed. Probability density functions of the maximum de ‡ection are also presented. The probabilistic results and trends are also explained using deterministic methods. It appears that the duration time of the loading models is generally the most sensitive parameter to uncertainty.ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my advisor Professor Haym Benaroya. I feel very lucky and honored to have him as my advisor. He is a great advisor and is always willing to give up his time to help. In addition, he is constantly looking out for his students.For instance, he would make sure that other professors, whom I was a teaching assistant for, do not give me a workload greater than the amount I was supposed to have. He has also provided me with a great deal of support, both academically as well as …nancially.A very big acknowledgement goes to Dr. Jason Florek who has become a great colleague and friend of mine. From the start he has helped me to understand the subject of blast loads and supplied me with many journal articles and books on the subject. He was always willing to help answer any questions I had on the subject, or for that matter, on any subject.I also used his response model in my work. On a personal note, he is always fun to hangout with and made it enjoyable to come to the o¢ ce or go to conferences. He even learned how to play goalie for our MAE United soccer team. Jason, thank you very much for everything.

Air blast load generation for simulating structural response

“…In particular, they discussed attempts to eliminate pulse shape effects in rigid plastic materials. Borenstein and Benaroya (2009) examined the response of a clamped aluminum plate to a simulated blast loading employing a decaying exponential form, with either an instantaneous rise or a finite rise to a peak overpressure level. The rectangular plate was modeled as an elastic-perfectly plastic material, with the plasticity modeled via plastic yield lines in a standard envelope pattern.…”

Design Optimization of Blast Resistant CFRP-steel Composite Structure Based on Reliability Analysis

“…Fluid structure interaction has been shown a significant effect on the pressure distribution and transfer (Ngo et al 2007). As deterministic blast simulations cannot provide a robust design given the significant sensitivity of blast simulation to many uncertain parameters that govern any blast (Borenstein and Benaroya 2009), a reliability-based approach was proposed for the design of blast-resistant composites . While the importance of the above issues in rational simulation of blast events was acknowledged, it is emphasized here that uncertainty consideration in blast events is necessary for blast resistant design.…”

Blast Wave Characteristics and TNT Equivalent of Improvised Explosive Device at Small scaled Distances

“…For each explosive, there are three potentially available tests and two or three records per distance, giving a total number of signals ranging from six to nine per explosive. Some authors suggest [18][19] that the variability between trials of the same explosive are negligible, while others disagreed [20][21] . To avoid data loss, the mean and standard deviation of all TNT equivalents have been calculated.…”