Validation of Computational Fluid Structure Interaction Models for Shape Optimization Under Blast Impact

A first order structural optimization problem is examined to evaluate the effects of structural geometry on blast energy transfer in a fully coupled fluid structure interaction problem. The fidelity of the fluid structure interaction simulation is shown to yield significant insights into the blast mitigation problem not captured in similar empirically based blast models. An emphasis is placed on the accuracy of simulating such fluid structure interactions and its implications on designing continuum level structures. Higher order design methodologies and algorithms are discussed for the application of such fully coupled simulations on vehicle level optimization problems.