Validation and performance assessment of an OpenFOAM-Based numerical procedure for blast load quantification in industrial environments
Abstract
This work presents a systematic validation and benchmarking of an open-source numerical procedure for the assessment of blast loads and their interaction with rigid structures. The computational framework, based on the Kurganov–Noelle–Petrova (KNP) central-upwind scheme within OpenFOAM’s rhoCentralFoam solver, is evaluated against analytical solutions (Sedov theory), empirical guidelines (UFC-3-340-02), and experimental data, demonstrating its capability to accurately capture key engineering parameters, including shock wave overpressures, arrival times, reflected impulses, and Mach stem formation. The procedure covers spherical, cylindrical, and hemispherical explosions, showing discrepancies below 10% for reflected pressures and 5% for arrival times in far-field domains. A particular emphasis is placed on industrial applications, such as predicting overpressures on tank walls, where the methodology reliably reproduces complex wave interactions observed in experiments. This work offers a robust and accessible opensource computational tool for the analysis and design of protective rigid solid surfaces in high-risk environments.