Influence of fluid-structure interaction effects on the ductile fracture of blast-loaded steel plates

This work presents ongoing research on the influence of fluidstructure interaction (FSI) effects on the ductile crack growth in perforated steel plates subjected to blast loading. The FSI effects were studied numerically by comparing the predictions from an uncoupled and a coupled FSI approach. Experimental results were used to evaluate the reliability of the numerical simulation. It was found that the numerical models were able to predict both crack initiation and crack growth in the plate, however, some distinct differences were also observed in the performance of the two approaches under consideration. The most important feature in predicting the observed fracture patterns was an accurate description of the blast loading during the FSI.