Explosive detonations create an incident blast wave, characterized by an almost instantaneous rise from atmospheric pressure to a peak overpressure. Whether through an accident or intentional act, explosions are an occurrence that can cause serious injury and death to persons and structures.
In intentional, malicious acts, terrorists mainly use Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s). Such attacks require extensive preparation, considerable experience and needed ingredients are difficult to procure. Nevertheless, attacks of this type still take place in Europe (such as the Madrid train bombings in 2004, the Oslo city-centre bombing in 2011, the Brussels airport bombing in 2016 or the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017) and worldwide.
The countering of such threats therefore remains an important focal point and JRC research in this domain focuses mainly on three aspects:
