The Multi Material Arbitrary Lagrange Euler (MMALE) method is widely used method for numerical investigation of structural response under blast loading. However the method is very demanding for use at the other hand. In this paper are presented the results of the detailed numerical investigation in order to simplify some decisions contributing to the accuracy and efficiency of this model. The influence of mesh properties (particularly mesh size, its biasing and distance of the boundary (DoB) conditions from the deforming structure) on blast wave loading parameters and structural response is investigated in detail and based on the results minimum mesh design criteria is proposed. The results obtained are presented as a function of the scaled distance and additionally related to the radius of the charge. Validation studies were also done successfully.

Gravel-filled arrester beds, also called safety-escape ramps or vehicle run-out areas, have long been a road-safety feature for safely stopping heavy road vehicles from running off the road. In the recent past, there has been consideration given to installing these features on highway access ramps to provide safe areas to stop passenger cars driving at highway speeds. The work presented in this article was performed to investigate the behaviour of standard-size passenger cars on gravel-filled arrester beds, with a particular focus on the achievable vehicle decelerations and the ability of the arrester beds to safely stop a passenger car coasting in an uncontrolled manner. The findings show that the achievable average decelerations are in the range of 0.3 g for coasting vehicles and up to 0.9 g when the vehicles are braking. The results prove that more research is required to quantify the influence of the gravel parameters on the achievable decelerations.