Experimental Investigations into the Deformation and Failure of Polyurea-Coated Steel Plates Experiencing Localized Air Blast Loads

Experimental investigations were conducted on the polyurea-coated steel plates experiencing localized air blast loads. The blast distance and polyurea coating position on the deformation and failure modes of the polyurea-coated steel plates were compared with those of homogeneous steel plates. The dynamic response failure and stress wave propagation characteristics of the polyurea-coated steel plates were studied. The results showed that under the localized air blast loads, the polyurea-coated steel plates demonstrated three failure modes: large flexural deformation, flexural deformation plus plugging breach, and flexural deformation plus plugging breach plus petal-like cracking. Under the same blast distance and surface density, the deformation and failure modes of the homogeneous steel plate were the same as those of the steel plate or polyurea-coated steel plate, but significantly different from those of the polyurea-coated steel plate. Coating polyurea on the non-blast-facing surface of steel plates exhibited better air blast resistance than coating polyurea on the blast-facing surface. Still, the air blast resistance of the polyurea-coated steel plate was insignificant compared to the homogeneous steel plates of the same weight.