The scaling laws of cabin structures subjected to internal blast loading: Experimental and numerical studies

This paper presents a combination of experimental and numerical investigations on the dynamic response of scaling cabin structures under internal blast loading. The purpose of this study is to modify the similar relationship between the scaled-down model and the prototype of the cabin structures under internal blast loading. According to the Hopkinson's scaling law, three sets of cabin structure models with different scaling factors combined with different explosive masses were designed for the experimental study. The dynamic deformation process of the models was recorded by a three-dimensional digital imaging correlation (DIC) method and a 3D scanning technology was used to reconstruct the deformation modes of the specimen. In addition, a finite element model was developed for the modification of the scaling law. The experimental results showed that the final deflection-to-thickness ratio was increased with the increase of the model size despite of the similar trend of their deformation processes. The reason for this inconsistency was discussed based on the traditional scaling law and a modified formula considering of the effects of size and strain-rate was provided.