Structural Response of Piping to Internal Gas Detonation

Detonation waves in gas-filled piping or tubing pose special challenges in analysis and prediction of structural response. The challenges arise due the nature of the detonation process and the role of fluid-structure interaction in determining the propagation and arrest of fractures. Over the past ten years, our laboratory has been engaged in studying this problem and developing methodologies for estimating structural response. A brief overview of detonation waves and some key issues relevant to structural waves is presented first. This is followed by a summary of our work on the elastic response of tubes and pipes to ideal detonation loading, highlighting the importance of detonation wave speed in determining flexural wave excitation and possibility of resonant response leading to large deformations. Some issues in measurement technique and validation testing are then presented. The importance of wave reflection from bends, valves and dead ends is discussed, as well as the differences between detonation, shock wave, and uniform internal pressure loading. Following this, we summarize our experimental findings on the fracture threshold of thin-walled tubes with pre-existing flaws. A particularly important issue for hazard analysis is the estimation of loads associated with flame acceleration and deflagration-to-detonation transition. We give some recent results on pressure and elastic strain measurements in the transition regime for a thick-wall piping, and some remarks about plastic deformation.