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Transportation Research Procedia 40 (2019) 1356–1363
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and Safe Transport

(TRANSCOM 2019), High Tatras, Novy Smokovec – Grand Hotel Bellevue, Slovak
Republic, May 29-31, 2019

Simulation of detonation and blast waves propagation

Matúš Ivančo*, Romana Erdélyiová, Lucia Figuli
Faculty of Security Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 8215/1, 010 26 Žilina, Slovakia

Abstract

Among the priorities of the Slovak Republic we consider the protection of elements of critical infrastructure, indispensably
including the transport infrastructure, which has to be constantly improve and modernize. Researching the protection of these
elements, part of the researchers is focusing on ways to protect assets from the blast effects. An explosion can’t be solely caused
due to a terrorist attack or other violent crime. Most frequent causes include electrical short circuits, gas pipeline disturbances, or
vehicle crashes, which can cause transportation collapse for up to a few days. Before realization of the blast protection of assets, a
number of simulations are required to provide the necessary information for application of a suitable way how to secure a
selected critical infrastructure element. The most important issue is to know the blast waves propagation and their mitigation. The
paper is focused on the various simulation methods to simulate the blast wave propagation as pressure-time function, compressed
balloon, mapping algorithm or solid TNT.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable,
Modern and Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019).
Keywords: transport infrastructure; blast protection; numerical simulation; blast wave

1. Introduction

In the transport sector, the protection of individual transport elements (infrastructure or means) plays an important
role not only in terms of transport fluency (logistics), but also in the protection of human life (Šoltés, 2018).
Transport infrastructure as well as vehicles can be treated by blast. An attack by blast can be classified as a general
criminality which consist mainly from property, moral, and violence crimes. Because attack by blast cannot be
included in any of

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +421904537601

E-mail address: matus.ivanco@fbi.uniza.sk

2352-1465 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Scientific Conference on Sustainable, Modern and
Safe Transport (TRANSCOM 2019).
10.1016/j.trpro.2019.07.188
 types of general criminality, it belongs among the other crimes (Šoltés, 2017). Explosion of explosives in case of
terrorist attacks, gas explosion in industrial accidents or in the transport of explosive substances or military
ammunition is one of the few cases where the real threat can occur. For the protection of elements and even the human
lives are essential to predict the behavior of such loaded elements. In case of blast load, a task is complicated due to
the nature of load. After the explosion, the pressure in created blast wave is rapidly changing in the time (Figuli,
2016). Analytical approach, as analysis of blast load as structural response, provides approximated results. More
realistic picture of the consequences of such event give us numerical approach thanks to the simulation software
mainly based
on the finite element method.

2. Methods of structural analysis

The approach to structural analysis can be analytical and numerical. For blast loaded structure we can consider
this two main groups, coupled and decoupled.

2.1. Coupled approach

The approach analyzes the actual interaction between air (shock wave) and the flexible structure of the object.
The structural effects of explosions can be simulated using the combined Eulerian/Lagrangian method of finite
element analysis. The main difference between coupled and decoupled approaches lies in the ability to interact and
modify a pressure wave that creates pressure and shift in the structure of an object during its operation. This type of
simulation is more time consuming in terms of computational resources, because we need to solve the Lagrange and
Eulerian equations at each increment of time. This type of simulation is used especially when the flexibility of the
object structure significantly affects the load profile (Kevin, 2014).

2.2. Decoupled approach

The pressure load is calculated separately from the structural response of the object, by analytical/empirical
equations or by previous dynamic simulations. The pressure is then expressed as a load function of the structural
analysis model. The individual pressure function then defines the pressure on the surface of the structure as a
function of time. Separate access is used if the time response of the structure is longer than the duration of the
positive pressure phase and deformation of the structure is not significantly affected by the pressure signal (Kevin,
2014).

3. Modeling of detonation and blast wave

There are several approaches to simulate detonation and blast loads as can be seen in Figure 1 and Table 1. Far-
field explosions can often be modeled by a pressure function that can be assumed from various textbooks in
combination with the so-called modified Friedlander equation. In this type of simulation, several factors are not
taken into account in the calculation: impact of reflection, shadowing and channeling.

Fig. 1. Simulation methods of explosion (Kevin, 2014)

 The advantage of the method is that, given the small number of elements, the calculation time is short. Often
times, the pressure and time function formulas are implemented in explicit codes. The negative phase of the pressure
wave is also rarely taken into account. In cases of more complex structures (as they often occur in urban areas or
near detonation), the spherical development of pressure and time does not produce sufficiently accurate results. In
this case, decoupled approaches with separate fluid calculations or coupled approaches using interaction of the fluid
structure need to be used. Simulations that take into account the behavior of the explosive itself also need very small
elements. Often these small elements are not usable in large test areas. The mapping algorithm to transform the
result from 1D to a coarse 3D mesh can easily fill this gap (Kevin, 2014).

Tab. 1. Description of simulation methods (Kevin, 2014)

Model Application Accuracy Calculation time

Pressure-time function Not suitable for reflections and shading Depending on the specific case Very short
Solid TNT Not suitable for large buildings Very high when using small elements Very long
Mapping algorithm Suitable for large and complex structures Very high Intermediate
Compressed balloon Suitable for large and complex structures High, but not for the physical model Intermediate

3.1. Compressed balloon

An alternative approach to creating a realistic blast wave profile is using of a compressed air balloon. Brode
(1955) introduced this concept of compressed balloon in the 1950s. The idea of a balloon method is to use a
compressed gas (balloon) compartment.

Fig. 2. Compressed balloon method (Blanc, 2017) Fig. 3. Bucket Surface method (Mapping Algorithms, 2018)

During the same period, Boyer (Brode, 1955) performed complementary experiments with a scale based on glass
gullies, which were originally pressurized to simulate real explosions. In numerical simulations or experiments, the
pressure-time function results from a compressed balloon and fits perfectly into the air-blast wave curve. Immediate
bursting of the membrane balloon causes the compressed gas to expand outward and produce shock waves, while
the driven wave travels inwardly and allows to break of the blast wave in the initial shock. In the case of
oxygen-deficient explosives, the base balloon model has been enhanced to simulate the afterburning effect on
air-blast waves. Similarly, the numerical questions associated with the use of spherical balloon in the simulations of
explosion on the Cartesian grid were also examined. Ritzel and Matthews have shown that any particular detonation
can be described by modifying several non-physically related parameters. The amount of compression can be
calibrated at the maximum pressure or pulse. It should be emphasized that in the literature balloon parameters are
usually chosen to reproduce the results of a particular experiment (Blanc, 2017).

3.2. Mapping algorithm

Mapping can be considered as a more general method. "Mapping" has been developed to allow the breakdown of
the calculation in several steps. We recognize two mapping algorithms: Bucket Surface and General Grid Interface
(GGI). Commercial programs such as AUTODYN and LS-DYNA offer mapping technology in their software tools.
3.2.1. Bucket Surface Mapping algorithm

This algorithm creates loads that are ideal for transferring profiles of non-conserved quantities, such as voltage,
displacement, temperature, and heat transfer coefficient from the source mesh to the target mesh. The first step in the
load mapping process using the Smart Bucket algorithm is, to divide the mapping source into an imaginary
structured mesh, each part of the grid being called "bucket". Example of 2D can be seen in the figure
(Mapping Algorithms, 2018). Each node in the data transmission area of the destination mesh is initially linked to
the bucket, and the data transmission areas consist of 3D mesh elements. In practical examples, there are only two
cases associated with the target node, the nodes are, or are not empty.

3.2.2. General Grid Interface (GGI)

In this algorithm, each front side of both, the source side and the target side, is firstly divided into n integrated
points (IP), where n is the number of nodes in the image. Three-dimensional IP images are then converted to two-
dimensional quadrilateral consisting of lines and columns of pixels. Pixels from the converted quadrants on the
source and target pages are intersect and form a number of overlapping areas called "control surfaces". For each
control surface, load increments are subsequently evaluated based on an associated source, image of the target
element and pixel intersections. Final load mapping for each target (or source) node is evaluated by accumulating
these increments on the control surface. If no control surfaces are created (for example, when there is no intersection
of the polygons between the mapping source and the target mapping) then the weights are equal to zero, and the
nodes and elements on the target (or source) side of the interface are reported as non-mapped. An example of such
mapping can be seen in the following figure (Mapping Algorithms, 2018).

Fig. 4. General Grid Interface method (Mapping Algorithms, 2018)

This technique offers very great options allowing to change the length of the mesh or model size. Due to its
properties, mapping technique is the perfect method for studying problems where the quality of initiation is a
determining parameter. Mapping is performed only at the beginning of the simulation. For this reason, the topology
of the mesh in data transfer areas during simulation cannot change (that is, it cannot be dynamically corrected)
(Ding-Shing, 2013).

3.3. Pressure-time function

The simplest way how to simulate the blast is defined it with the function describing the blast wave development.
According to the method, the pressure size can be defined based on the stand-off distance and the size of the
explosive charge. The process of spreading the blast-wave in the space can be estimated as a function of the pressure
in time, which have two basic phases: positive and negative.
 Fig. 5. Time-pressure of the blast (Figuli, 2017)

Among the basic characteristics describing the individual pressure wave belongs:

● the arrival time ta of the blast wave, including the time of the detonation wave to propagate through the charge
● maximum pressure ps (the peak overpressure), after this point the pressure drops below the reference pressure p0
until the maximum negative pressure pmin. The duration of the negative phase is t -.
+
● length of the positive phase of pressure t , which is the time for reaching the reference pressure p0 (in
most cases
the normal atmospheric pressure)
● overpressure impulse, which is the integral of the overpressure curve over the positive phase t+

The form of this pressure time curve can be described by the modified Friedlander equation and depends on the
time t, which begins with the arrival of the blast wave in the point (t = t0 – ta):
𝑏𝑏𝑡𝑡
𝑡𝑡 ) 𝑒𝑒 −
𝑡𝑡𝑑𝑑+

𝑝𝑝(𝑡𝑡) = 𝑝𝑝0 + 𝑡𝑡𝑃𝑃

(1)
𝑝𝑝𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 (1 −

where bt describe decline of the curve.

The essential task in blast load analysis is to estimate the maximal pressure of the blast wave created after the
explosion. Various approaches how to set the maximal pressure are described in (Ding-Shing, 2013).
All parameters of the pressure and time curves are written in terms of the reduced distance as follows:

𝑧𝑧 (2)
=
𝑅𝑅
√

where R represents the real distance from the epicenter of the explosion [m] and the W- reduced weight of the
charge [kg], for detailed information see (Kavicky, 2014).

3.4. TNT equivalent method

The TNT equivalent method, which is very often used in explosion resistance modeling, estimates the pressure
caused by the explosion, depending on the reduced distance of the selected object from the place of explosion. This
method was developed by the US Navy and the US Air Force and is still used in army components around the
world. The method uses correlations between explosives and damage based on the analysis of various military
experiments. The results are summarized in the US 5-1300 Technical Manual in the US Army. Similarly, this
method can be used in gas-explosion-induced accidents, but because of potential sources causing different vapor
pressure in the steam cloud, results are greatly distorted. After calculating the combustion heat of the escaping gas,
the combustion energy of the explosion
can be set to the same level as the equivalent of the TNT charge, and then the distance of the
overpressure is estimated. Thanks to its simplicity and speed of calculation, the TNT equivalent method is widely
used (Blast effects, 2011).
The equivalent weight of TNT for a flammable gas can be calculated using the following formula:

(3)

where mTNT represents equivalent of TNT, η - empirical explosion efficiency, m – mass of hydrocarbon,

ΔHc – energy of explosion of flammable gas, ETNT – energy of explosion of TNT (Blast effects, 2011).

4. Practical cases of simulations

Commercial software tools, mainly based on the finite element methods use the various methods described
above. In the next table, is a summary of selected commercial software, enabling to perform the dynamical analysis
with used methods.

Table 2. Commercial software tools.

Name of software Used methods

LS-DYNA PTS, sTNT, MA, CB
ABAQUS PTS, sTNT, MA,
ANSYS PTS, sTNT, MA, CB
Visual FEA PTS

As a case study will be presented simulation made in LS-DYNA. Such simulation can be made to analyses the
behavior of armored vehicles (in case of incident - transporting explosives, or ammunitions; or in the case of violent
attack – explosive placed inside). The following results, from Trajkovski et al (2018) represent the effects of 6kg of
the TNT explosive charge on a lightly-armored vehicle (LAV VALUK) with a length of 5.6m, 2.5m wide, 2m height
and 13.5t weight.

Fig. 6. Simulation of blast wave dispersion under LAVs with the flat floor (Trajkovski, 2018)

The most important information that needs to be elucidated by the simulation, is the magnitude of the kinetic
energy acting on the vehicle chassis and the displacement generated by energy. The results of the effect of the kinetic
energy on the vehicle can be plotted as follows:
 Fig. 7. Effect of the kinetic energy over time (Trajkovski, 2018)

Fig. 8. Changing the displacement size over the time (Trajkovski, 2018)

In simulation of explosion, all of the above mentioned methods, in the various implementation steps were used.
As can be seen in Figure 6, we used the compression balloon method to display the pressure wave propagation, but
preceded by the use of a mapping algorithm to plot the mesh for the individual simulation objects surfaces. For the
calculation of the overpressure we worked with the equivalent weight of the TNT explosives and the graphical
results were displayed by applying the pressure-time function. Such use of multiple methods is important to provide
the most realistic result that can be used for creation of security measures.

Fig. 9 Simulation of blast load in VISUAL FEA Fig. 10 Acceleration time – history of numerical model (Figuli, 2016).

The methods of pressure-time history were used in our previous research of blast loaded structures – steel beams
and windows. As for Visual FEA software, as for ABAQUS, the dynamic load was implemented with function
defined by coordinate axis. In the first case a load function was simplified time pressure diagram recorded in the
field test
(Figuli, 2016), in the case of blast loaded windows, it was about supposed time-pressure diagram in form of
exponential function. Before the simulation itself, it is necessary to perform a comprehensive analysis of security
risks, which is an important output in creating security measures aimed at protecting objects from different types of
threats. The issue of security risks is dealt by Loveček and Kampová in (Loveček, 2016) and (Kampová, 2010).

5. Conclusion

Selection the right method is always the choice of the researcher making the behavioral analyses of blast loaded
element. Nevertheless, there are established methods that most researchers use for their applicability and
comparability of the work results with the experts in the field. Outcomes are comprehensive scientific works, used
by students and scientists in their own research. The selection of these methods does not appear only for simple
analytical calculations, but especially for complicated numerical simulations, where is necessary to use computer
calculating capacity to obtain the desired results. Programming of selected methods is therefore part of any
computational or visual simulation software. Despite the minor differences in programming languages, it is possible
to carry out jointed research (in different countries) using the same method even using different types of software.
International research thus provides many opportunities for the current and next generation of researchers.

Acknowledgements

Publication of this paper was supported by the Centre of excellence for systems and services of intelligent
transport II., ITMS 26220120050 supported by the Research & Development Operational Programme funded by the
ERDF, VEGA 1/0768/19.

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