Dynamic response of multibody structure subjected to blast loading

The response of multibody structures with plastic hinges subjected to confined blast loading is investigated through experimental tests, theoretical calculation and numerical simulation in this paper. The time histories of plastic hinges' rotation angles have been obtained using a time-to-digital converter (TDC) in experiments during the deformation process. These tests were simulated using ABAQUS/Explicit, with a strain rate-dependent, critical plastic strain fracture criterion employed to model tearing failure of plastic hinges. Based on the rigid plastic assumption, a dynamics analytical model for blast loaded multibody structures is presented, in which the strain hardening and strain rate effects are considered. The FE models and theoretical method were validated by comparing their predictions against the corresponding experimental results, and were then used to gain insight into the effects of blast loading and thickness of plastic hinges on the deformation processes of the multibody structure.