DISCRETE PARTICLE METHOD IS A PREDICTIVE TOOL FOR SIMULATION OF MINE BLAST – A PARAMETER STUDY OF THE PROCESS AND APPROACH

The modeling of a buried charge is a very complex engineering task since many Design Variables need to be considered. The variables in question are directly related to the method chosen to perform the analysis and the process modeled. In order to have a Predictive Tool two main objectives have to be carried out, the first is a verification of the numerical approach with experimental data, the second objective is a sensitivity study of the numerical and process parameters. The emphasis of the present study covers the second objective. To perform this task a comprehensive sensitivity study of fourteen Design Variables was completed which required 1000+ computational hours. The modeling approach that was chosen was the Discrete Particle Method (DPM) to model the Soil and HE and the Finite Element Method for the Structure. The basis for the study was a blast event applied to a model of the TARDEC Generic Vehicle Hull. The Response Parameter was chosen to be the Total Blast Impulse on the structure. The non-linear transient dynamic explicit Finite Element solver used for the analysis was the IMPETUS Afea Solver^® which has implemented the DPM for blast simulations. The study includes soil characteristics, charge related parameters, such as size, type, geometry and location. Also the DOB, number of Discrete Particles etc. were considered. The results provide guide lines and in depth understanding of modeling buried charges with a coupled FEM and DPM approach.