Awards

Japan Explosives Society Paper Award 2022

Research on the Effectiveness of Various Buffer Materials Installed in Straight Tubes to Reduce Blast Blast Blast

　Dr. Tomotaka Homae has been continuously conducting research on blast reduction methods for explosions in underground/underground explosive devices, mainly by using experimental methods. We studied more reproducible and practical reduction methods. The reproducibility of the small electric detonator used as the blast source in the experiment and the amount of TNT equivalent were also verified, and these research results were published in the Science and Technology of Energetic Material as the following paper.
　Regarding the blast reduction effect of different installation methods of buffer materials, it was found that water was superior in the area directly under the blast source and porous metal was superior in the area of the straight pipe except for the area directly under the source. In particular, it was found that when porous metals were installed on four wall surfaces, the blast energy measured outside the tube was reduced to about 5% of that without porous metals. Experiments were conducted in a table-top system using a small 100 mg scale electric detonator as a test explosive, and detailed findings were obtained by repeating the experiment several times with high reproducibility. The quantification of the reduction effect was evaluated using the TNT-equivalent amount of the chemical, providing reliable and versatile research results, i.e., highly valuable for use.
　These research results may contribute not only to the improvement of the safety of underground explosives, but also to environmental countermeasures for tunnel blasting, etc.
　It is hoped that the research will continue and develop in the future, contributing to the improvement of explosives safety technology and the promotion of environmental conservation.

Recommended Papers

1. Blast wave mitigation from a straight tube using glass beads, Sci. Technol. Energ. Mater., Vol. 81, No. 6, pp. 164-170 (2020)
2. Blast wave mitigation from a straight tube using metal foam floor plate, Sci. Technol. Energ. Mater., Vol. 82, No. 3, pp. 83-87 (2021)
3. Blast pressure and TNT-equivalency of small electric detonators comprised of lead azide, Sci. Technol. Energ. Mater., Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 28-31 (2022)

Biography