The present thesis investigates the interaction of a shock wave with a cellular flame and the ensuing mechanisms on the dynamics of the subsequent flame deformation. The inter- action is known to disrupt the flame surface through the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, hence potentially enhancing the local combustion rates. This study aims to clarify the evolution of a flame when perturbed head-on by a shock wave. Two novel series of experiments were conducted in a vertically-oriented Hele-Shaw cell, which could successfully isolate a quasi-bidimensional cellular flame structure at ambient conditions. In the first configuration, the passage of the shock wave arising in the burned products of a deflagration wave was investigated, while both waves propagated in the same outward direction. In the other configuration, the shock wave centrally emerged in the unburned gases and collided with a cellular flame front traveling in the opposite direction. The event was captured using a Z-type Schlieren imaging system to visualize the growth of the flame cells. Shock characterization was determined in the Hele-Shaw apparatus to estimate the strength of the blast wave generated by energy deposition using a high-voltage igniter or by decoupled detonation from a detonation tube. A combustion study was also performed to determine the laminar flame speed in a mixture of hydrogen-air according to different equivalence ratios in the apparatus. The experiments revealed that inherent cellular flame instabilities are well developed in the observation scale of the Hele-Shaw geometry. The shock-flame complex was therefore analyzed experimentally for selected mixtures. As the shock wave traversed the interface separating the burned and unburned gases, the flame became more corrugated. Following the interaction, the flame cusps were stretched and/or flattened. At later times, the wrinkled interface was reversed and developed finer scales. A time scale analysis was performed to identify the contribution of the competing effects of Richtmyer-Meshkov and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities on the flame interface deformation. For the case of a shock wave traversing the flame interface from the unburned to the burned side, the early perturbations were mainly governed by the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. Finally, Rayleigh-Taylor instability resulted from the decaying pressure profile of the blast wave and tended to stabilize the perturbed interface to eventually reverse the cellular structure. Experimental and inert numerical results on the flame cell’s amplitude growth were found to be in good agreement.

A 30.5 cm diameter, detonation driven shock tube facility has been designed, constructed and tested. The design goals of the shock tube were to reproduce free field blast wave profiles on a laboratory scale using atmospheric gaseous detonation as the energy source. Numerical simulations were utilized to explore the gas dynamic evolution inside detonation driven shock tubes and to select the optimal design parameters for the shock tube.The Friedlander profile was used to evaluate the generated pressure profiles as an approximation of free field blast waves. It has been found that the detonation driver length should be kept below 20% of the total length of the tube in order to produce Friedlander waves. Additionally, it has been found that an annular vent can be added to the shock tube to enhance the negative phase of the blast profile, more accurately reproducing real free field blast waves. The shock tube has been constructed in a modular fashion from 2.54 cm thick steel tubing. An adjustable bag type diaphragm has been employed to allow for a variable driver size and a high voltage ignition system is used to initiate detonation in the driver section. Due to the available location for the shock tube, tests using the vented configuration could not be accomplished for safety reasons. Conducted experiments produced results that agree well with corresponding numerical simulations. Overall, the shock tube design was successful in creating Friedlander blast waves. At the time of writing, a manufacturer error in correctly reporting the specifications of the clamps used on the shock tube resulted in a lower maximum pressure of operation.

Detonation is the supersonic mode of combustion that occurs in munitions (military explosives and high explosives). These munitions result in blast waves that are hazardous to human life and structures. As a result, there is a high desire to mitigate these blast waves. One such method is to surround the explosive with mitigants (liquid, granular, and cellular porous material). For the safe storing and use of munitions, it is crucial to study the explosive dispersal of mitigant, the ensuing blast wave attenuation, and specifically, the mechanisms underlying this interaction. Current research involving mitigant blast wave attenuation is conducted in many configurations. The study aims to evaluate one configuration, shock tubes with particle suspension. Blast waves are simulated in the form of detonations initiated by DDT (deflagration-to-detonation) with mitigants in the form of dispersed particles. These dispersed particles included aluminum oxide, Al2O3, and aluminum, Al. The flame-flow interactions are experimentally studied using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and pressure transducers. The effect of particle suspension on blast waves is revealed, portraying a decrease in mitigation performance.

The near field blast–wave propagation dynamics has been a subject of intense research in recent past. Since experiments on a large scale are difficult to carry out, focus has been directed towards recreating these blast waves inside the laboratory by expending minuscule amounts of energy(few joules),which have been termed here as micro–blast waves. In the present study, micro-blast waves are generated from the open end of a small diameter polymer tube (Inner Diameter of 1.3 mm)coated on its inner side with negligible amounts of HMX explosive (~18 mg/m), along with traces of aluminium powder. Experimental, numerical, and analytical approaches have been adopted in this investigation to understand the generation and subsequent propagation of these micro–blast waves in the open domain. Time–resolved schlieren flow visualization experiments, using a high speed digital camera, and dynamic pressure measurements (head–on and side–on pressures) have been carried out. Quasi one dimensional numerical modeling of the detonation process inside the tube, has been carried out by considering the reaction kinetics of a single(HMX) reaction to account for the reaction dynamics of HMX. The one dimensional numerical model is then coupled to a commercial Navier– Stokes equation solver to understand the propagation of the blast wave from the open end of the tube. A theory that is valid for large scale explosions of intermediate strength was then used for the first time to understand the propagation dynamics of these micro–blast waves. From the experiments, the trajectory of the blast wave was mapped, and its initial Mach number was found to be about 3.7. The side–on overpressure was found to be 5.5 psi at a distance of 20 mm from the tube, along an axis, offset by 30 mm from the tube axis. These values were found to compare quite well with the numerically obtained data in the open domain. From the numerical model of the tube, the energy in the blast wave was inferred to be 1.5 J. This value was then used in the analytical theory and excellent correlation was obtained, suggesting the exciting possibility of using such theories, validated for large-scale explosions, to describe these micro–blasts. Considering the uncertainties in the approximate model, a better estimate of energy was obtained by working back the energy(using the analytical model) from the trajectory data as 1.25 J. The average TNT equivalent, a measure of its strength relative to a TNT explosion, was found to be 0.3. A few benchmark experiments, demonstrating the capability of this novel blast device have also been done by comparing them against the extant large–scale explosion database, suggesting the possibility of using these micro–blast waves to study certain aspects of large–scale explosions.

Blast wave induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) is a modality of injury that has come into prominence at the current time due to the large number of military and civilian personnel who have experienced the localized shock wave produced by explosive devices. The shock wave will travel concentrically outward from the explosive center, being absorbed and transmitted thru soft objects, such as tissue, and reflecting off stationary obstructions. Transmission and absorption in tissues can result in a number of physiological measureable injuries, the most common of which being what is frequently called “blast lung”. Blast lung involves the spalling effect at air-tissue interfaces. Another documented effect involves the asynchronous motion of tissue, particularly in the cranium, as the shock wave passes by. This predominately manifests itself in what is believed to be diffuse axonal injury and initiation of secondary injury mechanism. This study is designed to explore the relationship between shock waves and bTBI. A blast device was constructed for generating a free field shock wave through the high pressure rupture of a polycarbonate membrane. Air pressure in a small chamber is increased to a value several orders of magnitude greater than ambient air pressure and is held in place with the polycarbonate member. At the rupture of this membrane a shock wave is created. Measurements of this blast event, carried out with a piezoelectric pressure transducer, have shown that this shock wave is reproducible for the different membrane materials tested and is symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the high pressure chamber and exit nozzle. Having characterized the shock wave properties in the blast field, a location was chosen at which maximum shock wave pressure could be applied to the cranium for inducing bTBI. Experiments involving blast wave exposure were performed on two separate groups of animals in an attempt at establishing injury. One group was placed at a fixed distance directly below the blast nozzle, thereby experiencing both the shock wave and the associated air blast from the residual air in the chamber, and one placed at a defined distance off-axis to avoid the air blast, yet receiving two sequential blast exposures. All animal studies were approved by the VCU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The degree of injury was then assessed with the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS). Image Data was acquired on a 2.4 Tesla magnet for assessing changes in either the total percent water concentration or the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) of selected regions of interest in the brain of rats. Localized proton spectroscopic data was acquired from a voxel placed centrally in the brain. The baseline values of these parameters were established before the induction of bTBI. After the blast exposure, the animals were followed up with MRI and MRS at defined intervals over a period of one week. The first group of animals received blast exposure directly underneath the blast device nozzle and the MR data does suggest changes in some of the measureable parameters from baseline following blast exposure. This blast wave data though is confounded with additional and undesirable characteristics of the blast wave. The second group of animals that received a pure shock wave blast exposure revealed no remarkable changes in the MR data pre- to post- blast exposure. The percent water concentration, ADC and spectroscopic parameters were for statistical purposes identical before and after the blast. The resolution of this negative result will require reconsideration of the free field blast exposure concept.

For many years, terrorism has threatened life, property and business. Targets are largely in urban areas where there is a greater density of life and economic value. Governments, insurers and engineers have sought to mitigate these threats through understanding the effects of urban bombings, increasing the resilience of buildings and improving estimates of financial loss for insurance purposes. This has led to a desire for an improved approach to the prediction of blast propagation in urban cityscapes. Urban geometry has a significant impact on blast wave propagation. Presently, only computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods adequately simulate these effects. However, for large-scale urban domains, these methods are both challenging to use and are computationally expensive. Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) methods alleviate the problem, but are difficult to use for the non-expert and require significant tuning. We aim to make CFD urban blast simulation a primary choice for governments, insurers and engineers through improvements to AMR and by studying the performance of CFD in relation to other methods used by the industry. We present a new AMR flagging approach based on a second derivative error norm for compressive shocks (ENCS). This is compared with existing methods and is shown to lead to a reduction in overall refinement without affecting solution quality. Significant improvements to feature tracking over long distances are demonstrated, making the method easier to tune and less obtuse to non-experts. In the chapter that follows, we consider blast damage in urban areas. We begin with a validation and a numerical study, investigating the effects of simple street geometry on blast resultants. We then investigate the sensitivity of their distribution to the location of the charge. We find that moving the charge by a small distance can lead to a significant change in peak overpressures and creates a highly localised damage field due to interactions between the blast wave and the geometry. We then extend the investigation to the prediction of insured losses following a large-scale bombing in London. A CFD loss model is presented and compared with simpler approaches that do not account for urban geometry. We find that the simpler models lead to significant over-predictions of loss, equivalent to several hundred million pounds for the scenario considered. We use these findings to argue for increased uptake of CFD methods by the insurance industry. In the final chapter, we investigate the influence of urban geometry on the propagation of blast waves. An earlier study on the confinement effects of narrow streets is repeated at a converged resolution and we corroborate the findings. We repeat the study, this time introducing a variable porosity into the building facade. We observe that the effect of this porosity is as significant as the confinement effect, and we recommend to engineers that they consider porosity effects in certain cases. We conclude the study by investigating how alterations to building window layout can improve the protective effects of a facade. Maintaining the window surface area constant, we consider a range of layouts and observe how some result in significant reductions to blast strength inside the building.

Shock tubes have been used extensively to study shock wave structures and high speed flow features. The purpose of constructing this open end shock tube was to have the ability to produce shock waves in a laboratory setting but also understand the exit flow coming out which can be applied to future studies that are beyond the scope of this work. This undertaking would require that an open end shock tube be built and instrumented with PCB Integrated Circuit Piezoelectric (ICP) Pressure Sensor Model 113B24 that would then be connected to a PCB Model 482C05 Signal Conditioner with the purpose of measuring the the pressure jumps as well as the speed of the shock wave. The data was acquired using National Instruments NI PXIe-1071 chassis with a PXI 1088 Embedded Controller as well as three PXI 5114 digitizer cards with the Virtual Instrument coded using LabView. The data was written to a text file that was then transferred to MATLAB for post processing using a Savitzy-Golay filter to clean up the signal noise. The shock tube was driven using compressed air and a diaphragm burst was achieved through spontaneous rupture of a 0.003" Mylar diaphragm. The open shock tube built for this undertaking fits in a lab space and successfully produces a shock wave that propagates down the tube that exits at the open end to reproduce a blast wave. Additionally the available pressure sensors and DAQ were integrated into the shock tube to measure the different predicted shock structures in each run. The experimental runs at the exit of the shock tube demonstrate the expected exit flow features, but a flow visualization is necessary to get a better understanding of the exit flow

The MSU Loci/BLAST CFD code was used to study blast wave interactions with structures for different urban environments. A series of analyses which included single building structures inside of ERDC's Blast Load Simulator (BLS) with different obliquity orientations to the flow direction, two building structures inside the BLS with varying gap distances between the structures, and open air blast simulations with four structure scenarios at different building spacings and different blast orientations were performed. Unstructured and overset grid techniques were used during the modeling process and were compared for consistency with shock physics and computational performance. Results show Loci/BLAST's capability to accurately model blast wave interactions in urban environments for both unstructured and overset grids.

Recently, numerous flexible structures have been employed in various fields of industry. Loading conditions sustained by these flexible structures are often not described well enough for engineering analyses even though these conditions are important. Here, a flexible tent with an interior Collective Protection System, which is subjected to an explosion, is analyzed. The tent protects personnel from biological and chemical agents with a pressurized liner inside the tent as an environmental barrier. Field tests showed unexpected damage to the liner, and most of the damage occurred on tent's leeward side. To solve this problem, various tests and analyses have been performed, involving material characteristics of the liner, canvas, and zip seals, modeling of the blast loading over the tent and inside the tent, and structural response of the tent to the blast loading as collaborative research works with others. It was found that the blast loading and the structural response can not be analyzed separately due to the interaction between the flexible structure and the dynamic pressure loading. In this dissertation, the dynamic loadings imposed on both the interior and the exterior sides of the tent structure due to the airblasts and the resulting dynamic responses were studied. First, the blast loadings were obtained by a newly proposed theoretical method of analytical/empirical models which was developed into a FORTRAN program. Then, a numerical method of an iterative Fluid-Structure Interaction using Computational Fluid Dynamics and Computational Structural Dynamics was employed to simulate the blast wave propagation inside and outside the flexible structure and to calculate the dynamic loads on it. All the results were compared with the field test data conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The experimental pressure data were gathered from pressure gauges attached to the tent surfaces at different locations. The comparison showed that the proposed methods can be a good design tool to analyze the loading conditions for rigid or flexible structures under explosive loads. In particular, the causes of the failure of the liner on the leeward were explained. Also, the results showed that the effect of fluid-structure interaction should be considered in the pressure load calculation on the structure where the structural deflection rate can influence the solution of the flow field surrounding the structure. / Ph. D.

Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire s'inscrivent dans le cadre de deux projets, l'un européen, BASIS (Blast Actions on Structure In Steel), et l'autre français BATIRSÛR (Bâtiment en acier en zone PPRT de surpression), qui visent à mieux appréhender la vulnérabilité des bâtiments à ossature métallique face à un aléa de surpression. En particulier, ce travail a consisté à étudier les interactions entre une onde de souffle et une structure afin de caractériser le chargement global induit par une explosion. À partir de la génération d’ondes de souffle par détonation ou déflagration d'une charge gazeuse de propane oxygène, des campagnes expérimentales à petite échelle ont été conduites. Elles ont permis de mettre en défaut pour les faibles niveaux de surpressions étudiés (< 200 mbar) certaines approches simplifiées existantes. Des alternatives ont alors été proposées. Les coefficients de réflexion, caractérisant le chargement, ont été mesurés. De nouvelles valeurs sont proposées, notamment pour caractériser la diffraction d'une onde issue d'une déflagration. Les données du chargement résultant d’une déflagration et d’une détonation ont été comparées dans des configurations identiques. La propagation en champ libre de l’onde de souffle issue d’une déflagration a été reproduite au moyen du modèle du piston sphérique. Pour une de détonation, un modèle prédictif de ballon d'air comprimé, reposant sur la donnée de la masse volumique et l’énergie interne spécifique de l’explosif, a été développé et validé en champ lointain par comparaison avec les essais expérimentaux. Son utilisation a permis de mettre en évidence les atouts et les limites des simulations numériques pour reproduire le chargement. / The work presented in this thesis fall within two project, one European, BASIS (Blast Actions on Structure In Steel), and the other French BATIRSÛR (steel building in PPRTs area overpressure), which both aimed at better understanding the vulnerability of metal framed buildings against an overpressure hazard. In particular, our objective was to study the interaction between a shock wave and a structure in order to characterize the overall loading induced by an explosion. From the generation of blast wave by deflagration or detonation of an oxygen propane mixture, small-scale experimental campaigns were conducted. These experimental campaigns highlighted for low levels of overpressure (<200 mbar) some limitations in the existing simplified approaches. Alternatives have then been given. Reflection coefficients, characterizing the loading, were measured. New values were obtained, especially to characterize the diffraction. Data resulting from deflagration and detonation we recompared under identical configurations. The free field propagation of the blast wave generated by a deflagration was reproduced by using the model of the spherical piston. For a detonation, a predictive model of compressed balloon based on the data of the density and the specific internal energy has been developed and validated in far-field range using comparison with experimental tests. Its use has helped highlight the assets and limits of numerical simulation in order to reproduce the loading induced by a detonation.