Experimental and numerical investigations of the characterisation of reflected overpressures around a complex structure

Abstract : In explosion-structure interaction problems, an accurate prediction of blast loading remains a hard challenge. The reflected overpressures around a complex structure, such as a building with an apse and an atrium are almost always unpredictable so that experiments and numerical simulations may be the only possibilities to evaluate the threat of an industrial explosion. Well instrumented blast experimental studies are first carried out at small scale on a rigid specimen with a variable incidence angle. The main objective is to observe and quantify the regular and irregular reflections and the diffractions of a blast wave on a real structure. In parallel, numerical simulations are performed with a home-made eulerian CFD code. The comparison with experimental results permits to discuss the capabilities and limitations of numerical blast predictions.