Numerical Method for Predicting the Blast Wave in Partially Confined Chamber

Abstract

Blast waves generated by cylindrical TNT explosives in partially confined chamber were studied numerically and experimentally. Based on the classical fifth-order weighted essentially nonoscillatory finite difference schemes (fifth-order WENO schemes), the 1D, 2D, and 3D codes for predicting the evolution of shock waves were developed. A variety of benchmark-test problems, including shock tube problem, interacting blast wave, shock entropy wave interaction, and double Mach reflection, were studied. Experimental tests of explosion events in a partially confined chamber were conducted. Then, the 3D code was employed to predict the overpressure-time histories of certain points of chamber walls. Through comparing, a good agreement between numerical prediction and experimental results was achieved. The studies in this paper provide a reliable means to predict the blast load in confined space.