Abstract
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.
Highlights
To protect property and persons working on sites that handle, store or transport large quantities of flammable materials, it is necessary to estimate the effects of pressure resulting from an explosion, whether the explosion occurs at a close or a distant location
We describe an investigation based on three explosives, TNT, PEntaerythritol TetraNitrate (PETN) and Ammonium Nitrate/Fuel Oil (ANFO), which has been conducted by considering three parameters: overpressure, duration and impulse of the positive blast wave phase
The computation of the detonation energy reported in this study has permitted us to compare different decomposition rules and thermodynamic data to underline the energy discrepancy for the three explosives studied (TNT, PETN, ANFO)
Summary
To protect property and persons working on sites that handle, store or transport large quantities of flammable materials, it is necessary to estimate the effects of pressure resulting from an explosion, whether the explosion occurs at a close or a distant location. The security approach, on the other hand, assumes that the mass of products stored or the equivalent TNT charge is known, such that the range of the resulting pressure, and the resultant damage, must be determined. This study was conducted for three explosives: TriNitroToluene (TNT), PEntaerythritol TetraNitrate (PETN) and Ammonium Nitrate/Fuel Oil (ANFO). It is more sensitive to shock, friction and electrostatic discharge than TNT It is mainly used as principal compound in some military explosives compositions (plastrite, semtex...), in detonators. ANFO is a highly explosive mixture consisting of ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel. Because of its relative ease of manufacture, its low cost compared to other types of similar explosives and the stability of its two components, ANFO has been used in several terrorist attacks (1970, University of Wisconsin-Madison; 1995, Oklahoma City). We will first explore the thermochemical data on these explosives and analyze the effects of blast waves
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