Blast wall

HESCO bastions in Afghanistan

A blast wall is a barrier designed to protect vulnerable buildings or other structures and the people inside them from the effects of a nearby

Effectiveness

Research by Cranfield University Defence Academy, building on earlier work, has shown that blast walls have the following properties:

A non-deforming upright wall will significantly reduce the peak blast overpressure and impulse in an area between 4 and 6 wall heights behind it
Similar protection occurs at greater distances behind the wall, but to a diminishing extent
Blast walls perform best if the explosion is relatively close to the front of the wall^[1]
"Canopied" walls (with a top section overhanging the front face) show some improved blast protection over plane walls
A 90-degree canopy is more effective than a 45-degree one^[2]
Walls containing sand or water work well, and cause little damage if they fail
A wall has to stay intact long enough to "interact" with the blast in order to have any effect^[3]

Permanent blast walls can be made from pre-cast

Concertainers, wire mesh containers filled with sand or soil, which are used by British Armed Forces

^ Smith, Peter. "THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BLAST WALLS" (PDF). www.civ.uth.gr/. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Thessaly. Retrieved 6 November 2014. (p. 5)
^ Smith p. 7
^ Smith p. 11
^ Smith p. 13
^ Louca, L A; Boh, J W (2004). "Analysis and Design of Profiled Blast Walls" (PDF). www.hse.gov.uk. Health and Safety Executive. Retrieved 6 November 2014.

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