As concerns about structural safety increase in civilian and military domains, understanding the responses of materials and structures to blast loads is essential. This study focuses on the behavior of steel plates under blast loading, emphasizing the significance of experimental testing alongside analytical and numerical methodologies. Utilizing small-scale models allows for the safe simulation of blast conditions, but achieving complete geometric similarity often poses challenges. This paper explores the concept of incomplete geometric similitude, arguing that despite deviations from ideal geometric principles, such models can still capture critical structural responses, including stress distribution and deflection. By reviewing historical and contemporary research on similarity in structural testing, we highlight the practical need for refined scaling laws that acknowledge real-world complexities. We introduce a novel modification to the scaling laws, thus enhancing the predictive accuracy of dynamic responses under blast loads. Through numerical simulations validated against experimental results, our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in approximating the deflection ratios of scaled models to their prototypes. This work advocates for the integration of advanced material designs and scaling corrections to improve the reliability of structural performance assessments in extreme loading scenarios, paving the way for safer engineering practices in blast-resistant design.
Talaromi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.