Experimental and computational analysis of masonry subject to long duration blast loading

Much research has been conducted towards conventional blast loading and its interaction with structures. Typically the positive phase duration, t+, of a conventional highexplosive blast falls in the region 10ms < t+ < 100ms. Long duration blast can be considered as an explosive event in which t+ >100ms. This type of blast load offers added complexity when dealing with its interaction with structures due to the high impulses, drag winds and associated dynamic pressures. As part of an extended in-depth research study to develop a set of predictive algorithms, this paper investigates the geometrical dependence of masonry on the breakage patterns and debris distribution when subject to long duration blast loads. Experimental trials were conducted using the Air Blast Tunnel at MoD Shoeburyness, a specialised facility for long duration blast, in which two masonry panels were tested. The trials were subsequently modelling using the Applied Element Method (AEM) with the computational and experimental results demonstrating good agreement. Using this computational method, a number of extra models were developed providing an extended set of resultsoffering insight into the failure modes of masonry panels and the subsequent debris distributio