Predicting the Deflection of Square Plates Subjected to Fully Confined Blast Loading

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to conveniently and rapidly develop a new dimensionless number to characterize and predict the deflection of square plates subjected to fully confined blast loading. Firstly, based on the Kirchhoff–Love theory and dimension analysis, a set of dimensionless parameters was obtained from the governing equation representing the response of a thin plate subjected to impact load. A new dimensionless number with a definite physical meaning was then proposed based on dimensional analysis, in which the influence of bending, torsion moment and membrane forces on the dynamic response of the blast-loaded plate were considered along with the related parameters of the blast' energy, the yield strength of the material, the plate thickness and dimensions of the confined space. By analyzing the experimental data of plates subjected to confined blast loading, an approximately linear relationship between the midpoint deflection–thickness ratio of the target plate and the new dimensionless number was derived. On this basis, an empirical formula to predict the deflection of square plates subjected to fully confined blast loading was subsequently regressed, and its calculated results agree well with the experimental data. Furthermore, numerical simulations of square plates subjected to blast loading in a cuboid chamber with different lengths were performed. The numerical results were compared with the calculated data to verify the applicability of the present empirical formula in different scenarios of blast loading from explosions in a cuboid space. It is indicated that the new dimensionless number and corresponding empirical formula presented in this paper have good applicability and reliability for the deflection prediction of plates subjected to fully confined explosions in a cuboid chamber with different lengths, especially when the plates experience a large deflection–thickness ratio.