Scaling laws for diffraction loading by air blast

An approximate scaling law for complex blast loadings was constructed. This blast loading together with the structural response is used to assess the damage, which is done to structures by an explosion. The blast loading in a model of a shelter was studied in the 40 by 40 sq cm blast simulator. The density distribution around the model was determined by means of flow visualization with a shearing interferometer. An approximate scaling law, which eliminates the dependency on the shock strength is proposed for the time behavior of the blast loading. The scaling law is confirmed by measurement of the density at various locations in the model for shock strengths of 6.5 kPa and 33.2 kPa.