Comparison of ALE and SPH Methods for Simulating Mine Blast Effects on Structures

Abstract

Abstract : Defence Research and Development Canada - Valcartier (DRDC Valcartier) has been developing protection systems for many years to reduce the vulnerability of light armoured vehicles (LAV) against mine blast. To assist in the development of these protections, experimental tests and finite element (FE) analyses are performed. To carry out these numerical calculations, initial conditions such as the loading prescribed by a mine on a structure need to be simulated adequately. The effects of blast on structures depend often on how these initial conditions are estimated and applied. In this report, two methods were used to simulate a mine blast: the arbitrary Lagrangian- Eulerian (ALE) and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) formulations. The comparative study was done for a simple and a more complex target. The first target is an aluminum plate placed on four steel legs and centred over a surrogate mine filled with 6 kg of C4 which represents a typical buried mine blast scenario. Two FE models were generated: an ALE model and a SPH model. The final deformation of the plate was measured for both approaches and was compared with experimental measurements. The second target is a mock-up, representing a section of the side of a typical LAV, subjected to a typical improvised explosive device (IED). Two FE models were generated: an ALE model and a SPH model. Parametric studies were done on both models and the best results were compared to the experimental ones. Each comparison included the velocity at the center of the sponson wall, sponson top and sponson sidewall.