Mineral-Phenolic Foam for Blast Mitigation

Abstract

The present work studies the dynamic response of mineral-phenolic foam as well as its energy absorption capacity when subjected to shock loading by means of experimental tests. The experimental tests are carried out by a shock tube equipment available at Politecnico di Milano with a proper modification of the test set-up. The shock wave generated by the shock tube impinges a steel plate diffuser that is directly in contact with two prismatic foam specimens. Behind the specimens, a steel rigid flange is placed as a contrast. The pressure history applied to the plate diffuser is characterized by a maximum pressure value of about 0.46 MPa and a positive phase duration of about 20 ms.