Propagation of Shock Waves in Two Rooms Communicating through an Opening

Abstract

Confined explosions represent a serious safety hazard as significant damage to humans and structures is observed, unlike in free-field explosions. An experimental small-scale study investigated the blast wave in a single-story building. The blast waves were generated by the detonation of a gaseous charge. The building was divided into two rooms by a movable wall which could be positioned at three different locations. The presence of an opening in this movable wall means that two rooms were considered: a transmitter room (TR) and a receptor room (RR). The configuration without the movable wall was also studied. Pressure profiles recorded with pressure gauges at ground level and on the wall presented numerous reflections. The damage effects were severe since the maximum overpressure never fell below 0.2 bar. Although this study is limited to a small scale and gaseous detonation charge, the results can be applied to a large scale and for a TNT charge.