Numerical Modelling of Combined Blast Loading and Fragment Impact Using an Explosive Driven Shock Tube

This work is a part of a larger research effort to better understand the combined effect of the resulting blast wave and fragment impact following the detonation of a shrapnel bomb. The study presents insights into the establishment of a laboratory scale technique to generate a combined blast and projectile impact loading on a target using an explosive driven shock tube. The experiments are
numerically simulated based on an Eulerian approach using the LS-DYNA finite element software. The main purpose of this paper is to enhance the numerical modelling of the proposed experimental set-up. First, the numerical simulation aims to: (i) test the capability of the FE model to predict the projectile flight trajectory, (ii) predict the pressure profiles, the projectile velocity, the blast arrival time, and the different phases of the ball bearing flight. Second, the computational model is used for comparison ends with the experimental data. A good agreement was found between the experimental results and the numerical findings. Finally, the calibrated model serves to investigate other scenarios that were not performed experimentally.