Two-Dimensional Simulations of Sand Barrier Motion Induced by the Explosion of an Ammunition Stack Inside the Magazine

Large quantities of explosives, frequently exceeding 100,000 pounds, in different types of munitions may be stored in a single magazine. The storage of munitions has always presented safety problems, and various regulations have been developed over the years to ensure safe storage practices. In an effort to increase magazine limits, it has been proposed that the maximum credible event in an accident scenario may be significantly reduced if the munition store is divided into two or more stacks of ammunition separated by barriers designed to prevent propagation of an explosion from one stack to another. A combined analytical and experimental study was proposed to assess this hazard and to determine whether such barriers can be designed. The simulations were used to determine the velocity of a sand barrier on impact with an acceptor ammunition stack in order to design meaningful experiments. The donor ammunition stack was simulated by a volume of bare explosive. The initial position and size of the donor charge were varied in different computations. The thickness of the barrier was also varied. Velocity, pressure, and impulse histories were monitored at several stations in and near the barrier. Computational results show that the kinetic energy imparted to a barrier decreases with its thickness, indicating that thin fast-moving barriers have a potential to do greater damage to ammunition in an acceptor stack than thick slow-moving barriers. Thus, the barriers must be designed thick enough to prevent fragment penetration. See also ADA260984. Presented at the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Seminar (25th) held in Anaheim, California on 18-20 August 1992. Published in the Minutes of the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Seminar (25th), v1 p183-212, 1992.