Experimental, numerical and analytical investigation on blast response of brick walls subjected to TNT explosive

Abstract

Structural damage caused by terrorist attacks or explosions resulting from accidents is an essential crucial issue for civil engineering structures. After the explosion, heavy damage and total collapse occur in the structural carrier system, and these destructions can cause significant loss of life and property. This study aimed to determine the structural behavior of brick walls exposed to blast loading with different explosive weights using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods. The masonry brick walls were selected for the application and constructed in the allowed quarry area for experimental studies. 40g, 150g, and 290g of TNT, which are placed inner base center of brick walls, were used respectively to observe the progressive damage. The analytical blast responses, such as maximum pressure values etc., were calculated and predicted empirical formulas. The numerical blast responses were determined with Ansys Workbench and Autodyn software. At the end of the study, damage situations, pressures, displacement values, and energies are presented comparatively. It is observed from both experimental and numerical methods that 40g and 150g TNT explosives caused several damages on the wall. The wall collapsed on supporting points in 290g TNT explosives. It can be seen that the mean values of pressures and displacements increase respectively by three and six times, with the TNT explosive weight increasing from 40g to 290g. A good agreement is also found between the finite element results and empirical formulas proposed by Henrych and Sadovsky. However, inconsistent blasting responses are obtained with empirical formulas depending on the scaled distance.