Blast wave parameters for spherical explosives detonation in free air

Isabelle Sochet (1) , Dominique Gardebas (2) , Stéphane Calderara (3) , Yann Marchal (3) , Baptiste Longuet (4)

1 PRISME - Laboratoire Pluridisciplinaire de Recherche en Ingénierie des Systèmes, Mécanique et Energétique
2 IRCGN - Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale (IRCGN)
3 IRCGN - Institut de Recherche Criminelle de la Gendarmerie Nationale
4 DGATt - DGA Techniques terrestres

Several formulations have been published to define the characteristic parameters of an incident blast wave. In almost all previous work, the charge examined has been TNT explosive and overpressure has been the main parameter examined. In this paper, we describe an investigation based on three explosives, TNT, PETN and ANFO, which has been conducted by considering three parameters: overpressure, duration and impulse of the positive blast wave phase. Calculations of the three parameters were conducted using TM5-855 through the tool CONWEP and AUTODYN. The positive overpressures were calculated using the new forensic software ASIDE. The evolution of these blast wave parameters is expressed by combining the laws of two approaches: the forensic approach and the security approach. TNT equivalents are expressed in terms of pressure and impulse for the comparisons of ANFO and PETN.

Mots clés: ANFO; Blast wave; Duration; Explosive; Impulse; Overpressure; PETN; TNT

Domaines: Milieux fluides et réactifs

Isabelle Sochet, Dominique Gardebas, Stéphane Calderara, Yann Marchal, Baptiste Longuet. Blast wave parameters for spherical explosives detonation in free air. Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology, 2011, 1 (2), pp. 31-42. ⟨10.4236/ojsst.2011.12004⟩. ⟨hal-00629295⟩