On Blast Pressure Analysis Due to a Partially Confined Explosion: I. Experimental Studies

This paper presents a first stage of a study aimed at understanding some characteristics of an interior explosion within a room with limited venting. An interior explosion may occur accidentally in ammunition storage, or due to a terrorist action, or as a result of a warhead explosion that follows its penetration into a closed space. The full scale experimental study is focusing on a single room sized space with rigid boundaries, at the center of which a TNT charge is detonated. The room has a limited size opening for venting at the ceiling. The effect of the charge size on the blast pressures has been investigated and a new insight with regard to the pressure distribution on the walls as well as the pressure attenuation depending on these parameters has been gained.