Experimental Evaluation and Finite-Element Simulations of Explosive Airblast Tests on Clay Soils
Publication: International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16, Issue 4
Abstract
This study examined the effects of small-scale airblast experiments on clay soils and compared experimental results with numerical solutions obtained through finite-element simulations. Thirty-three suspended explosive blasts were conducted above clay soils with explosive masses ranging from 0.9 to 100.9 g and suspended heights ranging from 2.5 to 7.6 cm. The experiments were instrumented with airblast sensors and subsurface triaxial geophones to measure vibration energy and air overpressure from the blast events. Laboratory tests were conducted on the experimental soils to obtain geotechnical and shear strength soil properties. Two-dimensional (2D), arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) finite-element simulations were performed using a finite-element software program and compared with the experimental results. Soils were modeled using the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) soil material model. Air overpressure, ground vibration, and crater geometry data obtained from the experimental blasts were compared with the numerical simulation results. The first-order simulated results compared fairly well with the experimental results, with the exception of simulated crater diameters, which were 1.5 times larger than experimental results. However, stress-response instabilities were observed in the model after the initial stress pulse had propagated through the soil, and the model did not appear to capture postpeak behavior. Therefore, the soil model used in the study is recommended for use only as a first estimate for capturing the response of airblast loading of clay soils in a 2D ALE analysis. More recent models, such as a cap plasticity model or the disturbed state concept (DSC) model, are more applicable if stress path and postpeak behaviors are to be adequately captured. In addition, a three-dimensional analysis of ALE coupled with Lagrange elements should be considered for capturing a more accurate strength response.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Abbo, A. J., and Sloan, S. W. (1995). “A smooth hyperbolic approximation to the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion.” Comput. Struct., 54(3), 427–441.
Ambrosini, R. D., and Luccioni, B. M. (2006). “Craters produced by explosions on the soil surface.” J. Appl. Mech., 73(6), 890–900.
Ambrosini, R. D., Luccioni, B. M., Danesi, R. F., Riera, J. D., and Rocha, M. M. (2002). “Size of craters produced by explosive charges on or above the ground surface.” Shock Waves, 12(1), 69–78.
An, J., Tuan, C. Y., Cheeseman, B. A., and Gazonas, G. A. (2011).” Simulation of soil behavior under blast loading.” Int. J. Geomech., 323–334.
ASTM. (2006). “Standard test methods for amount of material in soils finer than No. 200 (75-μm) sieve.” D1140, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2007). “Standard test method for unconsolidated-undrained triaxial compression test on cohesive soils.” D2850, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2009a). “Standard test methods for laboratory determination of density (unit weight) of soil specimens.” D7263, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2009b). “Standard test methods for particle-size distribution (gradation) of soils using sieve analysis.” D6913, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2010a). “Standard test methods for laboratory determination of water (moisture) content of soil and rock by mass.” D2216, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2010b). “Standard test methods for liquid limit, plastic limit, and plasticity index of soils.” D4318, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2011a). “Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (unified soil classification system).” D2487, West Conshohocken, PA.
ASTM. (2011b). “Standard test method for direct shear test of soils under consolidated drained conditions.” D3808, West Conshohocken, PA.
Busch, C. L., Aimone-Martin, C. T., and Tarefder, R. A. (2015). “Experimental evaluation of cratering and ground vibration in clay soils subjected to airblast loading.” J. Test. Eval., 43(2).
Chen, W. F., and Baladi, G. Y. (1985). Soil plasticity theory and implementation, developments in geotechnical engineering, Vol. 38, Elsevier Science, New York.
Cooper, P. W. (1996). Explosives engineering, Wiley-VCH, New York.
Das, B. M., and Ramana, G. V. (2011). Principles of soil dynamics, 2nd Ed., Cengage Learning, Stamford, CT.
Dassault Systèmes. (2013). SolidWorks, student edition, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France.
Defense Nuclear Agency. (1979). “Nuclear geoplosics sourcebook, Volume IV, Part II, empirical analysis of nuclear and high explosive cratering and ejecta.” DNA 6501H-4-2, Washington, DC.
Desai, C. S. (2001). Mechanics of materials and interfaces: The disturbed state concept, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Desai, C. S., and Siriwardane, H. J. (1984). Constitutive laws for engineering materials with emphasis on geologic materials, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Drucker, D. C., Gibson, R. E., and Henkel, D. J. (1957). “Soil mechanics and work hardening theories of plasticity.” Trans. AMSCE, 122(1), 338–346.
Hall, J. B. (2000) Principles of naval weapons systems, Kendall Hunt, Dubuque, IA.
Hallowell Manufacturing (2009). Kinepak technical data sheet, Columbus, KS.
Hallquist, J. O. (2012). LS-DYNA theoretical manual, Livermore Software Technology Corporation, Livermore, CA.
Hargather, M. J., Settles, G. S., and Gatto, J. A. (2007). “Gram-range explosive blast scaling and associated materials response.” Proc., 26th Int. Symp. on Shock Waves, Springer, Berlin.
Hunt, R. E. (2005). Geotechnical engineering investigation handbook, 2nd Ed., Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.
Isenberg, J., Vaughan, D. K., and Sandler, I. S. (1978). “Nonlinear soil-structure interaction.” Electric Power Research Institute Rep. EPRI NP-945, Weidlinger Associates, New York.
Katti, D. R., and Desai, C. S. (1995). “Modeling and testing of cohesive soil using disturbed-state concept.” J. Eng. Mech., 648–658.
Kinney, G. F., and Graham, K. J. (1985). Explosive shocks in air, 2nd Ed., Springer, Berlin.
Klisinski, M. (1985). “Degradation and plastic deformation of concrete.” Ph.D. dissertation, Institute of Fundamental Technology Research (IFTR) Report 38, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Kumar, R., Choudhury, D., and Bhargava, K. (2014). “Prediction of blast-induced vibration parameters for soil sites.” Int. J. Geomech., 04014007.
Lee, W. Y. (2006). “Numerical modeling of blast-induced liquefaction.” Ph.D. dissertation, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.
Lewis, B. A. (2004). “Manual for LS-DYNA soil material model 147.” FHWA-HRT-04-095, Federal Highway Administration, Research and Development, McLean, VA.
LSTC (Livermore Software Technology Corporation). (2013). LS-DYNA, version 971, revision 6.1.1, Livermore, CA.
Mellegard, K. D., DeVries, K. L., and Callahan, G. D. (2005). “Lode angle effects on the deformational properties of natural rock salt.” Proc., 40th U.S. Symp. on Rock Mechanics (USRMS): Rock Mechanics for Energy, Mineral and Infrastructure Development in the Northern Regions, American Rock Mechanics Association, Alexandria,VA.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). (1976). “U.S. standard atmosphere.” NASA-TM-X-74335, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Air Force, Washington, DC.
Nicholls, H. R., Johnson, C. F., and Duvall, W. I. (1971). “Blasting vibrations and their effects on structures.” Bureau of Mines Bulletin 656, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.
Reid, J. D., Coon, B. A., Lewis, B. A., and Murray, Y. D. (2004). “Evaluation of LS-DYNA soil material model 147.” FHWA-HRT-04-094, Federal Highway Administration, Research and Development, McLean, VA.
Sandler, I. S., and Rubin, D. (1979). “An algorithm and a modular subroutine for the cap model.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 3(2), 173–186.
Schwer, L. E., and Murray, Y. D. (1994). “A three-invariant smooth cap model with mixed hardening.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Geomech., 18(10), 657–688.
Simo, J. C., Ju, J. W., Pister, K. S., and Taylor, R. L. (1988). “Assessment of the cap model: Consistent return algorithms and rate-dependent extension.” J. Eng. Mech., 191–218.
Simo, J. C., Ju, J. W., Pister, K. S., and Taylor, R. L. (1990). “Softening response, completeness condition, and numerical algorithms for the cap model.” Int. J. Numer. Anal. Methods Eng.
Tong, X., and Tuan, C. Y. (2007). “Viscoplastic cap model for soils under high strain rate loading.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 133(2), 206–214.
Vortman, L. J. (1977). “Craters from surface explosions and energy dependence–a retrospective view.” Impact and explosion cratering, D. J. Roddy, R. O. Pepin, and R. B. Merrill, eds., Pergamon, New York, 1215–1229.
Zimmie, T. F., Abdoun, T., and Tessari, A. (2010). “Physical modeling of explosive effects on tunnels.” Fourth Int. Symp. on Tunnel Safety and Security, Frankfurt, Germany, 159–168.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Journal of Geomechanics
Volume 16 • Issue 4 • August 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 7, 2014
Accepted: Oct 21, 2015
Published online: Jan 8, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 8, 2016
Published in print: Aug 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.