Abstract
This contribution is the third part of a paper addressing size and boundary effects on explosively induced wave propagation, fracturing and fracture pattern development in small scale laboratory specimens, which are frequently used for model blast tests. Small cylindrical and block type specimens fabricated from concrete, sandstone and amphibolite are centre-line loaded by linear explosive charges and supersonically detonated. Using shock wave theory, elastic wave propagation theory, and fracture mechanics it is shown that the type of boundary conditions prescribed at the outer boundary of the cylinder controls the extension of stem cracking and the development of the fragmentation pattern within the body of the cylinder and the cube specimens. In the case of a composite specimen, where a cylindrical core of different material is embedded in a cylinder or in a cube, the level of fracturing and fragmentation is controlled by the conditions and possible de-lamination of the interface which, in turn, depends on the relative dimensions of the core and the block. Using known results from the theory of wave interaction with free boundaries and interfaces it will be shown that the fracture strain and the notch sensitivity of the material expressed by imperfections play an important role. Equally important is the ratio between the length of the pulse (space-wise or time-wise) and the characteristic dimensions of the models. Axi-radial boundary cracks and spalling will be explained on the basis of earlier wave propagation studies associated with supersonic blasting. Theoretical results are in good agreement with numerical simulations and recent experimental findings.