Survivability assessment of shell structures under blast loads
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32347/2410-2547.2026.116.366-372Keywords:
survivability, TNT equivalent, blast, impulsive loading, overpressure, modeling, shellAbstract
Shell structures in the form of vertical steel storage tanks for petroleum products constitute a critical element of modern industrial infrastructure and are designated as strategic facilities. Ensuring their survivability under blast loads represents a pressing engineering challenge. In the context of blast resistance, the notion of survivability should be interpreted with an understanding that the complete preservation of a thin-walled shell structure under extreme impact is practically unattainable. The article regards the survivability of thin-walled vertical steel tanks subjected to impulsive loading generated by a surface blast. The consequences of such loading depend not only on its spatial characteristics but also on the mechanical and geometrical properties of the structures. The classification of the load regime - whether impulsive or quasi-static - is determined by the ratio between the load duration τ and the fundamental vibration period T of the structure. For any mechanical system, it is possible to construct graphical dependencies in which each point defines the decisive boundary between impulsive and quasi-static regimes as a function of the fundamental frequency f, distance R, and TNT-equivalent charge mass W. For given f, R, and W, such graphs make it possible to determine whether dynamic effects dominate the response. Finite-element models have been developed to simulate potential damage scenarios for the cylindrical shell of a 20000 m3 tank exposed to blast loading. Three scenarios have been considered: minor plastic strains; the onset of wall fracture; and severe failure of the frontal sector of the tank. The predicted structural response corresponds well to experimentally observed failure modes that occur under surface blast conditions for thin-walled cylindrical shells. Numerical simulations have been conducted for various combinations of R and W. Obviously, only the first scenario is fully consistent with the engineering concept of survivability. For this regime, the structural integrity and operability of the tank are preserved, and von Mises stresses remain within or near the elastic limit of the material. Survivability is considered assured if, for any point on the shell surface, the maximum von Mises stress does not exceed the yield stress. This criterion implicitly constrains the possibility of a local buckling.
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