Uncertainties in blast simulations evaluated with Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method

The paper provides an inside look into experimental measurements, followed by numerical simulations and their related uncertainties. The goal of the paper is to present findings related to blast loading and the handling of defects that are inherent in experiments. Very often it might seem that experiments are simplified reflections of real-life conditions. In most cases this is true, but there is a good reason for that. The more complex an experiment is, the larger the amount of uncertainties that can be expected. This especially applies when the blast loading of concrete is the subject of research. When simulations fail to reproduce the results of experimental measurements, it does not necessarily mean there is something wrong with the numerical model. The problem could be missing information. Put differently, the numerical simulation may lack information that seemed irrelevant with regard to the experiment. In the presented case, a reference simulation with a proven material model unexpectedly failed to replicate the results of an experiment where concrete slabs were exposed to blast loading. This resulted in a search for possible unknowns. When all of the uncertainties were examined, the missing information turned out to be the orientation of the charge to the concrete slab. Since the experiment was burdened with error, a sensitivity study had to take place so the influence of this factor could be better understood. The findings point to the fact that even the smallest defect during experiments must somehow be taken into account when designing numerical simulations. Otherwise, the simulations are not correlated to the experiments, but merely to some expectations.