Analytical models for calculating the response of temporary soil-filled walls subjected to blast loading

Abstract

The aims of the thesis were to study the response of temporary soil-filled walls both experimentally and numerically, and to develop an efficient and accurate analytical model to predict 2-D planar response from blast loading which could be used to efficiently calculate a pressure-impulse (P-I) curve. An explicit finite element (FE) formulation was constructed using LS-Dyna software, and two analytical models were also derived and presented: a Rigid-Body Rotation model as a preliminary model, and the Rigid-Body Hybrid model as the proposed model of this thesis. Seven full-scale experiments which consisted of blast loading simple free-standing soil-filled Hesco Bastion (HB) walls are presented. Apart from comparison of an experimental result where the soil-fill in the wall possessed sizable cohesion, the response of the Rigid-Body Hybrid model was in very good agreement with the experiments overall (within 10 %). A soil sensitivity study was conducted and overall very good agreement was reached between the Rigid-Body Hybrid model in comparison with the FE model in its ability to capture differences in displacement-time histories from differences in soil parameters. Comparison with the FE model for different height-to-width ratios of walls showed that the Rigid-Body Hybrid model was within 10 % for all rotation angles and predictions of critical overturning impulse for height-to-width ratios of walls . P-I curves were developed using the analytical and FE models for the three different wall configurations studied in the experiments. The results demonstrated that the proposed Rigid-Body Hybrid model is useful for calculating a P-I curve for a HB wall efficiently and yielded very accurate results (within 5 % for the impulse asymptotes).