Response of curved aluminum panels subjected to localized blast loading at extreme temperatures

Abstract

An experimental investigation was conducted to understand the effect of curvature on blast response of aluminum panels under extreme temperatures. Three aluminum 2024-T3 panels: one flat and two curved panels with radii of curvatures of 304.8 mm and 111.8 mm, were used for the study. A shock tube apparatus was utilized to impart controlled blast loading. Propane flame torches were used to heat the specimens and experiments were conducted at 25 °C, 200 °C, and 350 °C. High-speed photography coupled with 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique was used to obtain full-field deflection, velocity, in-plane strain and curvature change on the back face of the panels. Different modes of deformation and mode transitions during the blast loading of the three panels have been identified. The effect of temperature on the deformation modes was investigated. The deflection of the panel with 304.8 mm radius of curvature was found to be higher than the other two panels. With an increase in temperature, deflections increased, and strain was seen to get localized. The deformation modes were strongly dependent on initial curvature and less sensitive to temperature.