Response of composite plates to blast loading

The transient response of composite plates, with and without central circular holes, to blast loading is studied. The modal-analysis approach has been used in the computation of numerical results, which have been obtained for isotropic and orthotropic plates, with and without holes. In order to verify the theoretical results, experiments have been conducted on aluminum and unidirectionally reinforced E-glassepoxy plates, using a shock tube as the loading device. The experimental peak dynamic strains (normalized with respect to the pressure) are compared with the theoretical values. The strain-time history is also shown for a particular gage location in the composite plate. Finally, a comparison of dynamic-amplification factors, defined as the ratio of the peak dynamic strains to the static strains, has been made between the isotropic and the composite plates.