Laboratory Investigation of Layered Aluminium Mesh for Blast Mitigation Purposes Using a Shock Tube

Abstract. A design tool was developed which characterizes the pressure and impulse reduction abilities of an Explosafe Aluminium Mesh over a specific range of scaled distances. This tool was developed by evaluating blast mitigation properties of the mesh through the use of a shock tube. The aluminium mesh reduced pressure and impulse to a greater degree as layers of mesh were increased. Additionally, pressure reduction and impulse reduction come at a design trade-off to one another. As scaled distance increases, impulse reduction increases while pressure reduction decreases. Overall impressive reductions were achieved by such a lightweight and easy-to-handle material, however, these tests began to investigate a lightweight blast mitigation option for the field. A design tool was created utilizing the data from previous arena tests and the shock tube tests discussed in this paper.