Investigation on a novel shallow buried explosive magazine and its shock wave safety separation distance.

This article focuses on the development and evaluation of a novel shallow buried explosive magazine designed to reduce the safety separation distance required for explosive storage. The proposed magazine features a shallow buried main body, a reinforced concrete distribution slab, and a heaped-up earth cover, which together direct blast venting primarily in one direction to minimize blast wave propagation to the sides and rear. Numerical simulations using LS-DYNA, validated by a 1/4 scale field test, demonstrate that the distribution slab significantly decreases the safety separation distance by up to 48% laterally and about 90% to the rear, while the strength of the main body has limited effect. Additionally, a straight transport passage further reduces blast effects in protected directions compared to a lateral passage, enabling safety separation distances up to 87% smaller than conventional earth-covered magazines. The study provides a validated modeling approach and suggests potential for optimizing magazine design to enhance safety and efficiency in explosive storage engineering.