In this project, a robust portable apparatus has been developed for the use to quantify the effect of in-situ tropical soil properties and ejecta on blast loadings. In the effort to substantiate the efficacy of the apparatus in measuring blast loading of a shallow buried explosive in soil at natural condition, series of small-scale air blast tests and detonation of shallow buried explosive in silica sand have been carried out. Two methods of measurement were employed, namely the optical method and instrumentation method, where data with regard to test apparatus flight time, peak height, and peak acceleration of the target plate were obtained. Repeatability in obtaining the measured data are important as it suggested the feasibility of the test apparatus. Results from both measurements in optical and instrumentation methods have shown less than 10% in data variations from the average value. This signified the capability of the apparatus to provide consistent measurement during the tests. Another important aspect of the test apparatus is its ability to provide data on the effect of ejecta through measurement of target plate acceleration.
buried explosive, small-scale experiment, in-situ soil test, blast intensity, soil ejecta