The Australian national facility for physical blast simulation

The National Facility for Physical Blast Simulation (NFPBS) has been established at a site north of the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. This facility is designed for systematic experimental studies of blast wave propagation and loading regimes, blasts damage to elements of civilian and military infrastructure, blast injury protection and other important blast related areas of research. The simulator is a state-of-the-art design having a test section of 1.5 x 2 m with dual-mode Driver capable of operating with compressed gas or gaseous explosive. Using an oxy-acetylene gas mix as Driver, blast simulations of 350 kPa incident level will be possible; peak levels and durations will be adjustable to 30 ms by Driver settings and adjustable distance to the test section. The simulator will be capable of a range of blast-test configurations including full-reflection wall targets, diffraction model targets, as well as behind-wall and blast-ingress scenarios. The NFPBS is based on the ‘Advanced Blast Simulator’ (ABS) concept. Various ABS designs have been adopted by several universities and government laboratories in the US and Canada pursuing blast-effects studies. Preliminary results from the NFPBS will be presented for both compressed gas and gas detonation modes of blast wave simulations.