• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.79-90
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• 2021

This paper presents a study to reduce the effect of blast pressure on the blast valves installed in protection tunnels, where the shape of the tunnel entrance and the blast pocket is optimized based on the predetermined basic shape of the protective tunnels. The reliability of the numerical tunnel models was examined by performing analyses of mesh convergence and overpressure stability and with comparison to the data in blast-load design charts in UFC 3-340-02 (DoD, 2008). An optimal mesh size and a stabilized distance of overpressure were proposed, and the numerical results were validated based on the UFC data. A parametric study to reduce the blast overpressures in tunnel was conducted using the validated numerical model. Analysis was performed applying 1) the entrance slope of 90, 75, 60, and 45 degrees, 2) two blast pockets with the depth 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 times the tunnel width, 3) the three types of curved back walls of the blast pockets, and 4) two types of the upper and lower surfaces of the blast pockets to the reference tunnel model. An optimal solution by combining the analysis results of the tunnel entrance shape, the depth of the blast pockets, and the upper and lower parts of the blast pockets was provided in comparison to the reference tunnel model. The blast overpressures using the proposed tunnel shape have been reduced effectively.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2023

This paper presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to investiagate the effect of expansion chamber on overpressure reduction in protective tunnels subjected to detonation of high explosives. A commercial CFD code, Viper::Blast, was used to model the blast waves in a protective tunnel with a length of 160 m, width of 8.9 m and height of 7.2 m. Blast scenarios and simulation matrix were establihsed in consideration of the design parameters of expansion chamber, including the chamber lengths of 6.1 m to 12.1 m, widths of 10.7 m to 97 m, length to width ratios of 0.0 to 5.0, heights of 8.0 m and 14.9 m, and ratios of chamber to tunnel width of 1.2 to 10.9 m. A charge weight of TNT of 1000 kg was used. The mesh sizes of the numerical model of the protective tunnel were determined based on a mesh convergence study. A parametric study based on the simulation matrix was performed using the proposed CFD tunnel model and the optimized shape of expansion chamber of the considered tunnel was then proposed based on the numerical results. Design recommendations for the use of expansion chamber in protective tunnel under blast loads to reduce the internal overpressures were finally provided.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.7-18
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• 2022

Secondary batteries used in electric vehicles have a potential risk of ignition and explosion. Various safety measures are being taken to prevent these risks. A numerical study was performed using a computational fluid dynamics code on the cases where pressure relief vents that can reduce the blast overpressures of batteries were installed in the through-compression test room, short-circuit drop test room, combustion test room, and immersion test room in facilities rleated to battery used in electric vehicles. This study was conducted using the weight of TNT equivalent to the energy release from the battery, where the the thermal runaway energy was set to 324,000 kJ for the capacity of the lithium-ion battery was 90 kWh and the state of charge (SOC) of the battery of 100%. The explosion energy of TNT (△H_TNT) generally has a range of 4,437 to 4,765 kJ/kg, and a value of 4,500 kJ/kg was thus used in this study. The dimensionless explosion efficiency coefficient was defined as 15% assuming the most unfavorable condition, and the TNT equivalent mass was calculated to be 11 kg. The internal explosion generated in a test room shows the very complex propagation behavior of blast waves. The shock wave generated after the explosion creates reflected shock waves on all inner surfaces. If the internally reflected shock waves are not effectively released to the outside, the overpressures inside are increased or maintained due to the continuous reflection and superposition from the inside for a long time. Blast simulations for internal explosion targeting four test rooms with pressure relief vents installed were herein conducted. It was found that that the maximum blast overpressure of 34.69 bar occurred on the rear wall of the immersion test room, and the smallest blast overpressure was calculated to be 3.58 bar on the side wall of the short-circuit drop test room.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.21-28
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• 2018

This paper presents two-step simulations to calculate the influence of blast-induced pressures on explosion-protection valves installed at the boundary between a protection facility and a tunnel entering the facility. The first step is to calculate the respective overpressure on the entrance and exit of the tunnel when an explosion occurs near the tunnel entrance and exit to approach the protection facility. Secondly, the blast pressures on the explosion-protection valves mounted to walls located near the tunnel inside approaching the protection facility are analyzed with a 0.1 ms time variation using the results obtained from the first-step calculations. The following conclusions could be derived as a results: (1) The analysis of the entrance tunnel scenario, P1, leads to the maximum overpressure of 47 kPa, approximately a half of the ambient pressure, at the inner entrance due to the effect of blast barrier. For the scenario, P2, the case not blocked by the barrier, the maximum overpressure is 628 kPa, which is relatively high, namely, 5.2 times the ambient pressure. (2) It is observed that the pressure for the entrance tunnel is effectively mitigated because the initial blast pressures are partially offset from each other according to the geometry of the entrance and a portion of the pressures is discharged to the outside.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.706-712
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• 2014

Explosives are reactive material that contain a great amount of high potential energy. They produce detonation if released suddenly, accompanied by the production of strong light, high heat, great noise and high pressure. Damage at surrounding detonation point is affected by high pressure and blast wave for explosives detonation. Consequently, analysis of pressure and blast wave is very important. This study focuses on the analysis of maximum overpressure and blast wave of explosives for safety assurance. First of all, four cases of the amount of HMX were selected. Secondly, maximum pressure and blast wave were calculated through detonation simulation along with a set of TNT and HMX quantities. The peripheral effect of detonation point was analyzed by calculating overpressure and absolute velocity and considering detonation occurred in the center of geometry by HMX. Also, maximum overpressure and blast wave of HMX were compared to equivalent amount of TNT, which was taken as a base case and verified through theoretical HMX graph. This study contributes to the base case for overpressure and blast wave of complex gunpowder containing HMX.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.28-34
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• 2016

Empirical model, phenomenological model, and CFD model have been used to evaluate the blast effects produced by explosion of explosives, flammable gas and liquid or dust. TNT equivalence method which is one of empirical models has been widely used as it is simple. In this study, new peak overpressure-scaled distance and scaled impulse-scaled distance equations are induced through fitting data from the curves given by TNT equivalence method. If the TNT equivalent mass is calculated, it is possible to estimate the peak overpressure and impulse using the regression equations. Differences of peak overpressure with yield factor which is a component of TNT equivalence method are found to be great in near-by distances from explosion source where the increase in overpressure is very steep, but the differences are getting smaller as the distances increase.

• Architectural research
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2013

Offshore oil and gas process plants are exposed to hazardous accidents such as explosion and fire, so that the structural components should resist such accidental loads. Given the possibilities of thousands of different scenarios for the occurrence of an accidental hazard, the best way to predict a reasonable size of a specific accidental load would be the employment of a probabilistic approach. Having the fact that a specific procedure for probabilistic accidental hazard analysis has not yet been established especially for explosion and fire hazards, it is widely accepted that engineers usually take simple and conservative figures in assuming uncertainties inherent in the procedure, resulting either in underestimation or more likely in overestimation in the topside structural design for offshore plants. The variation in the results of a probabilistic approach is determined by the assumptions accepted in the procedures of explosion probability computation, explosion analysis, and structural analysis. A design overpressure load for a sample offshore plant is determined according to the proposed probabilistic approach in this study. CFD analysis results using a Flame Acceleration Simulator, FLACS_v9.1, are utilized to create an overpressure hazard curve. Moreover, the negative impulse and frequency contents of a blast wave are considerably influencing structural responses, but those are completely ignored in a widely used triangular form of blast wave. An idealistic blast wave profile deploying both negative and positive pulses is proposed in this study. A topside process module and piperack with blast wall are 3D FE modeled for structural analysis using LS-DYNA. Three different types of blast wave profiles are applied, two of typical triangular forms having different impulse and the proposed load profile. In conclusion, it is found that a typical triangular blast load leads to overestimation in structural design.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.429-455
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• 2010

The current research presents a detailed methodology for generating air blast loading for use within a finite element context. Parameters describing blast overpressure loading on a structure are drawn from open literature sources and incorporated within a blast load generation computer code developed for this research. This open literature approach lends transparency to the details of the blast load modeling, as compared with many commonly used approaches to blast load generation, for which the details are not publicly available. As a demonstration, the load generation code is used with the finite element software LS-DYNA to simulate the response of a steel plate and girder subjected to explosions modeled using these parameters as well as blast parameters from other sources.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2017

The understanding of the pressure associated with air blast, which travels through air, and its effect on surface and underground structures is highly important. It is necessary to determine the pressure change with time and distance for a computer simulation of the explosion impact on a structure. From the previous studies, many empirical equations for estimating the parameters related to the pressure change. In this study, the empirical equations for predicting peak overpressure, duration of positive phase, impulse, minimum negative pressure, duration of negative pressure, arrival time, and decay constant were reviewed and analyzed. Also, the pressure changes predicted from the Kingery equation, which is the most commonly used, and from the other empirical equations were compared.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.44-53
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• 2022

This study evaluates the applicability of the TNT Equivalency Method, Multi-Energy Method, and Baker-Strehlow-Tang (BST) Method, which are blast prediction models used to determine the overpressure of blast wave generated from vapor cloud explosion. It is assumed that the propane leaked from a propane storage container with a capacity of 2000 kg installed in an area where studio houses and shopping centers are concentrated causes a vapor cloud explosion. The equivalent mass of TNT calculated by applying the TNT Equivalency Method is found to be 4061 kg. Change of overpressure with the distance obtained by the TNT Equivalency Method, Multi-Energy Method, and BST Method is rapid and the magnitude of overpressure obtained by the TNT Equivalency Method and BST method is generally similar within 100 m from explosion center. As a result of comparing the overpressure observed in the actual vapor cloud explosion case with the overpressure obtained by applying the TNT Equivalent Method, Multi-Energy Method, and BST Method, the BST Method is found to be the best fit. As a result of comparing the overpressure with the distance obtained by each explosion prediction model with the damage criteria for structure, it is estimated that the structure located within 90 m from explosion center would suffer a damage more than partial destruction, and glass panes of the structure separated by 600 m would be fractured.