A History of Research and a Review of Recent Developments

Preface
A long time ago I walked over a snow-covered marsh to place explosives near
unsafe grenades; later cutting charges were set on steel joists under a desert sun,
and in another part of the world camouflets were bored in the rock of monsoonlashed
mountains. Tables were used in military handbooks to calculate charge
weights, and instructions were read from the same books on the safety of handling
and storage. We never asked who calculated the figures or drew up the precautions,
or where the history of the subject could be found. We were told to concentrate,
keep cool and make sure that we avoided blowing up the explosive store, the
headquarters bunker and above all, the Colonel. The source or level of accuracy
of our technical information was not questioned by us.
The world of explosive technology and the science of explosive loading has
come a long way since those days, but it was always a secret world. The
development of military weapons, the response of civil and military structures,
and the legal overtones of great disasters involving dust, vapour and gas explosions
all require circumspect behaviour by those in the know. Scientists and engineers
conduct target response tests in nether regions or behind high fences. Analysis
and simulation are hidden in a parallel world of security passes and personal
vetting. Much research is subject to restrictions on open publication, and the
history of research and development is not always available to newcomers in
the field. Nevertheless, whether we are concerned with gas, vapour, dust, plastic
explosive, Semtex or nuclear warheads, the need to be aware of history and to
use a sense of history in judging the way forward is still desirable.
This book is an attempt to review developments over the years in methods
of calculation, measurement and prediction of the dynamic loading on structures
from explosions. It endeavours to trace the history of the subject and to
summarize some of the latest published thinking, and considers finally a range
of structures from buildings and bridges to ships and aircraft. It is not concerned
with the design of protective structures or the hardening of existing structures,
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