A brief review of experimental methods for testing blast effects on structures is presented. Methods are classified in four groups: field tests, shock tubes, pendulum systems, and new techniques (blast simulator). Description of each method is given together with overall specification of possible instruments used in each test. In today’s modern era of computers which are becoming powerful tool implemented in all aspects of life and also scientific research, comparison of experimental and numerical techniques is also given. Comparison of data obtained from different experimental methods show that careful planning and execution leads to reliable results in terms of pressure, impulse, stress, and damage quantification.

Results of numerical simulations of explosion events greatly depend on the mesh size. Since these simulations demand large amounts of processing time, it is necessary to identify an optimal mesh size that will speed up the calculation and give adequate results. To obtain optimal mesh sizes for further large‐scale numerical simulations of blast wave interactions with overpasses, mesh size convergence tests were conducted for incident and reflected blast waves for close range bursts (up to 5 m). Ansys Autodyn hydrocode software was used for blast modelling in axisymmetric environment for incident pressures and in a 3D environment for reflected pressures. In the axisymmetric environment only the blast wave propagation through the air was considered, and in 3D environment blast wave interaction and reflection of a rigid surface were considered. Analysis showed that numerical results greatly depend on the mesh size and Richardson extrapolation was used for extrapolating optimal mesh size for considered blast scenarios.

This study examines the behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs subjected to contact explosions through experimental investigations and numerical simulations. A contact explosive charge field experiment was conducted on a bi-directionally reinforced RC slab to characterise the resulting damage patterns. The experimental findings revealed localised perforation and substantial deformation of the reinforcement bars without bar rupture. A numerical model employing the RHT concrete and Johnson–Cook steel material models was implemented in Ansys Autodyn (v 2023 R2) to replicate the observed responses. Initial verification was carried out against data from the literature, and calibration was performed using the instantaneous geometric strain (IGS) as the erosion parameter. An optimal IGS value of 0.375 was found to reproduce the experimental damage most accurately. Subsequent parametric analyses of the validated models investigated the influence of slab thickness and reinforcement ratios on blast resistance. The results demonstrated that increasing the slab thickness substantially mitigates perforation, while higher reinforcement ratios improve overall structural integrity. This work confirms the reliability of the calibrated numerical models for predicting the response of RC slabs to contact explosions, and it offers valuable insight into the design of blast-resistant structures.