A review of equivalent loading test techniques for simulating explosion load

Against the backdrop of rising global terrorism and industrial accidents, research on infrastructure safety under blast impact has become critically urgent. As a pivotal approach for investigating dynamic responses and damage characteristics of materials and structures subjected to explosive loading, the equivalent blast-loading techniques, which show safe, efficient, and accurate, have emerged as both a research frontier and challenge. This review synthesizes advancements in equivalent blast-loading techniques for far-field explosion simulation, encompassing explosive-driven shock tubes, high-pressure gas-driven shock tubes, drop-weight impact testing machines, and hydraulically-actuated simulators. While each technique exhibits distinct advantages and limitations in simulating blast shockwaves, all strive to establish controlled and secure experimental environments that reproduce high-velocity air flow fields and pressure waves generated by explosions. Through comparative assessment, their performance in load replication fidelity, applicability, and operational efficiency are elucidated, alongside discussions on implementation challenges and potential. Finally, a novel blast simulation technique leveraging liquid-gas phase-transition-driven expansion is introduced and the follow-up research directions are prospected.