Influence of venting areas on the air blast pressure inside tubular structures like railway carriages

In case of a terrorist bomb attack the influence and efficiency of venting areas in tubular structures like train carriages is of interest. The pressure-time function of an air blast wave resulting from a solid charge is first compared to that of a gas or dust explosion and the capability of a venting structure to fly away is assessed. Several calculations using fluid-structure interaction are performed, which show that after a certain distance from the explosion, the air blast wave inside a tubular structure becomes one-dimensional, and that the influence of venting areas parallel to the wave propagation direction is small. The pressure peak and the impulse at certain points in a tubular structure are compared for several opening sizes. The overall influence of realistic size venting devices remains moderate and their usefulness in mitigating internal explosion effects in trains is discussed.