Seismoacoustic modeling of a below-ground explosion using finite element analysis

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Vol. 150; no. 4; p. A180
• Main Author: Blom, Philip S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-10-2021
• ISSN: 0001-4966; 1520-8524
• DOI: 10.1121/10.0008051

The generation of seismic and acoustic energy by below-ground explosions is a complicated, inelastic process in which damage and failure dynamics near the source and at the rock-air interface have a significant impact on the resulting seismoacoustic wavefield. Recent investigations by Blom et al. (2020) have demonstrated that combining the Rayleigh integral with a parametric spall model describing the ground motion characteristics for a given emplacement (i.e., depth, yield, and geology characteristics) results in accurate predictions for acoustic signals produced by below-ground explosions. In order to supplement this parametric, physics-based model, numerical simulations have been used to investigate the seismic and acoustic signals produced by a below-ground explosion using finite element methods including material crush at the source and tensile failure at the surface. The aim of these simulations is to enhance our understanding of the seismoacoustic signal generation by this complicated spatially and temporally extended source and investigate how acoustic and seismic observations can be leveraged to characterize below-ground explosions. An overview of the finite element simulations and the various challenges involved in their execution will be presented along with preliminary results.