The analysis and simulation of welded stiffener plates subjected to localised blast loading

This article presents the results of the experimental and numerical investigation into the effects of introducing welding into established laboratory scale tests of blast loaded stiffened plates. The experimental configurations, manufacturing details and results are presented. For a specific weld configuration an increasing stiffener height results in a decreasing tearing threshold. The bulge and stiffener deflection trends are independent of the weld configuration for the same stiffener height. In contrast, the tearing thresholds are strongly dependent on weld configuration and therefore the choice of weld configuration requires careful consideration during the design phase of blast protection. The numerical predictions are limited to large Mode I deflections and correlate well with the experimental trends. The results of modelling the tearing failure threshold are not included but reference to the preliminary attempts is provided.