Professor Sam Clarke
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering
Professor of Blast Geotechnics


+44 114 222 5703
Full contact details
Department of Civil and Structural Engineering
Room D121
Sir Frederick Mappin Building (Broad Lane Building)
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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My research aims to understand the fundamentals of blast impact to save lives and infrastructure.
Dr Sam Clarke
Sam graduated from The University of Sheffield with a MEng (Hons) degree in Structural Engineering and Architecture in 2006.
He then joined the Geotechnical Engineering Group and completed his PhD in advanced numerical modelling in 2009. During his doctorate studies Sam spent a number of periods working with Arup Geotechnics' Numerical Skills Team in London and the university spin-out company LimitState.
He spent a short period as a Research Assistant before taking up the post of Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering in November 2009.
Over the past decade Sam has spent much time investigating the role of soil in blast events. He works on the fundamental physics that govern the interaction between soil, air and explosive charges.
Soil is a variable material; unlike steel, its behavior is not easy to predict. Understanding the fundamentals enables Sam to make accurate predictions of what the effects of a blast in a particular environment would be.
Understanding the impact of blast on soil, buildings, transport and communication networks can contribute to the design of infrastructure that is more resilient to terrorism. Sam’s work also helps to protect troops, vehicles and structures in warzones.
Research Themes
- Research interests
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Sam’s research has led to many collaborations with the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory.
He is currently investigating the high stress, high strain-rate response of geomaterials experienced in blast loading events as well as novel techniques for the quantification of the loading in such events.
He is now a core member of the Blast and Impact Dynamics research group.
His main research interests focus on:
- The role of soil in buried explosive events
- Numerical modelling of soil in blast events
- Quantification of rate effects in soils
- Experimental techniques for the measurement of blast loading
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Characterisation of buried blast loading. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 476(2236). View this article in WRRO
- High-pressure compressibility and shear strength data for soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 56(7), 1042-1048. View this article in WRRO
- Predicting the role of geotechnical parameters on the output from shallow buried explosives. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 102, 117-128. View this article in WRRO
- Effects of strain rate and moisture content on the behaviour of sand under one-dimensional compression. Experimental Mechanics, 56(9), 1625-1639. View this article in WRRO
- Design of a split Hopkinson pressure bar with partial lateral confinement. Measurement Science and Technology, 27. View this article in WRRO
- Geotechnical causes for variations in output measured from shallow buried charges. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 86, 274-283. View this article in WRRO
- A large scale experimental approach to the measurement of spatially and temporally localised loading from the detonation of shallow-buried explosives. Measurement Science and Technology, 26. View this article in WRRO
Conference proceedings papers
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All publications
Journal articles
- An approach to quantifying the influence of particle size distribution on buried blast loading. eng, 4(1), 319-340.
- View this article in WRRO
- Blast wave interaction with structures – an overview. International Journal of Protective Structures.
- The Effect of Stress Level on the Resilient Modulus of Non-Engineered Mudrock Backfill Materials. CivilEng, 3(3), 630-642.
- Time of arrival as a diagnostic for far-field high explosive blast waves. International Journal of Protective Structures.
- View this article in WRRO
- Out with a bang: the challenge of measuring explosions. Careering Ahead(11), 74-77.
- Near-field spatial and temporal blast pressure distributions from non-spherical charges: Horizontally-aligned cylinders. International Journal of Protective Structures.
- Deformation of Armox 440T plates subject to buried explosive charge detonations: A benchmark for appliqué systems. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 150.
- On the Cover of this Issue: Reflected Near-Field Blast Pressure Measurements by S. E. Rigby, R. Knighton, S. D. Clarke, and A. Tyas. Experimental Mechanics, 60(7), 873-873.
- Reflected near-field blast pressure measurements using high speed video. Experimental Mechanics. View this article in WRRO
- Characterisation of buried blast loading. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 476(2236). View this article in WRRO
- High-pressure compressibility and shear strength data for soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 56(7), 1042-1048. View this article in WRRO
- Effect of moisture content on high strain rate compressibility and particle breakage in loose sand. Experimental Mechanics. View this article in WRRO
- Influence of particle size distribution on the blast pressure profile from explosives buried in saturated soils. Shock Waves, 28(3), 613-626. View this article in WRRO
- Local Variations in Gabion Structures. International Journal of Protective Structures. View this article in WRRO
- Electromagnetic Interference in Measurements of Radial Stress During Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar Experiments. Experimental Mechanics. View this article in WRRO
- Predicting the role of geotechnical parameters on the output from shallow buried explosives. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 102, 117-128. View this article in WRRO
- Approach to Developing Design Charts for Quantifying the Influence of Blast Wave Clearing on Target Deformation. Journal of Structural Engineering, 143(1). View this article in WRRO
- Effects of strain rate and moisture content on the behaviour of sand under one-dimensional compression. Experimental Mechanics, 56(9), 1625-1639. View this article in WRRO
- Design of a split Hopkinson pressure bar with partial lateral confinement. Measurement Science and Technology, 27. View this article in WRRO
- Measuring spatial pressure distribution from explosives buried in dry Leighton Buzzard sand. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 96, 89-104. View this article in WRRO
- Experimental studies of the effect of rapid afterburn on shock development of near-field explosions. International Journal of Protective Structures, 7(3), 452-465. View this article in WRRO
- Preface to special edition on blast load characterisation. International Journal of Protective Structures, 7(3), 303-304. View this article in WRRO
- Blast Quantification Using Hopkinson Pressure Bars. Journal of Visualized Experiments(113), 1-11. View this article in WRRO
- Geotechnical causes for variations in output measured from shallow buried charges. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 86, 274-283. View this article in WRRO
- Displacement timer pins: An experimental method for measuring the dynamic deformation of explosively loaded plates. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 86, 124-130. View this article in WRRO
- Observations from Preliminary Experiments on Spatial and Temporal Pressure Measurements from Near-Field Free Air Explosions. International Journal of Protective Structures, 6(2), 175-190. View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Angle of Incidence Effects on Far-Field Positive and Negative Phase Blast Parameters. International Journal of Protective Structures, 6(1), 23-42. View this article in WRRO
- A large scale experimental approach to the measurement of spatially and temporally localised loading from the detonation of shallow-buried explosives. Measurement Science and Technology, 26. View this article in WRRO
- A Numerical Investigation of Blast Loading and Clearing on Small Targets. International Journal of Protective Structures, 5(3), 253-274. View this article in WRRO
- The Negative Phase of the Blast Load. International Journal of Protective Structures, 5(1), 1-19. View this article in WRRO
- Incorporating TESRA behaviour in an advanced constitutive model. Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering - Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering, NUMGE 2014, 1, 127-132.
- Briefing: UK Ministry of Defence force protection engineering programme. Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering and Computational Mechanics, 166(EM3), 119-123. View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Modelling discrete soil reinforcement in numerical limit analysis. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 50(7), 705-715. View this article in WRRO
- Effect of inundation on shear strength characteristics of mudstone backfill. Engineering Geology, 158, 48-56.
- Designing simulator tools for rail research: The case study of a train driving microworld. Applied Ergonomics.
- Modelling of viscous effects in natural clays. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 49(2), 129-140. View this article in WRRO
- Numerical modelling of blast mitigation of pre-fractal obstacles. International Journal of Protective Structures.
- The Effect of Soil Mineralogy and Particle Breakage on the Impulse Generated from Shallow Buried Charges. Applied Sciences, 13(9), 5628-5628.
- A Review of Blast Loading in the Urban Environment. Applied Sciences, 13(9), 5349-5349.
- Temporally and Spatially Resolved Reflected Overpressure Measurements in the Extreme Near Field. Sensors, 23(2), 964-964.
- Far-field positive phase blast parameter characterisation of RDX and PETN based explosives. International Journal of Protective Structures, 204141962211497-204141962211497.
- Mitigation of blast loading through blast–obstacle interaction. International Journal of Protective Structures, 204141962211158-204141962211158.
- High-Speed Infrared Radiation Thermometer for the Investigation of Early Stage Explosive Development and Fireball Expansion. Sensors, 22(16), 6143-6143.
- Blast Quantification Using Hopkinson Pressure Bars. Journal of Visualized Experiments(113).
Chapters
- Using optical diagnostics for near field blast testing, Current Perspectives and New Directions in Mechanics, Modelling and Design of Structural Systems (pp. 515-520). CRC Press
- View this article in WRRO
Conference proceedings papers
- The effect of loading frequency on the resilient modulus behaviour of non-engineered Mudrock backfill materials. 17th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ECSMGE 2019 - Proceedings, Vol. 2019-September
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- The Effect of Temperature and Moisture Content on the Behaviour of Pyritic Fill: Development of an In Situ Monitoring System (pp 1321-1326)
- View this article in WRRO
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- Strain-rate effects in dry and partially-saturated sand under one-dimensional compression at high pressures (pp 1397-1402) View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO
- Assessment of geotechnical properties of British coal measures rocks for construction. 1st Australasia and South East Asia Conference in Structural Engineering and Construction. Perth, Western Australia, 28 November 2012 - 2 December 2012.
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Reports
Posters
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Theses / Dissertations
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Datasets
Presentations
Other
- Book review, Rudolph Glossop and the rise of geotechnology. Geotechnique, 62(4), 369-369. View this article in WRRO
- Characterisation of buried blast loading. Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 476(2236). View this article in WRRO
- Research group
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Geotechnical Engineering
Blast & Impact
- Grants
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Mechanisms & Characterisation of Explosions
The overall aim of MaCE is to develop a comprehensive conceptual model of blast loading which will serve to underpin accurate predictive models for protection engineers.
- PhD opportunities
Understanding Rate Effects In Geomaterials
The purpose of this project will be to conduct experimental work to identify:
- The triaxial behaviour of different geomaterials at a range of loading rates and
- The parameters which affect the geomaterials sensitivity to loading rate
The outcome of this work will be well validated material models which can be used in computational analysis models to predict the response of protection systems to intense transient loading.
Predicting The Impulse From Buried Charges
To date, no-one has attempted to synthesise all the disparate data sources into a single complied dataset to allow for a meta-analysis to be conducted. This will involve collating data from the literature and from the Sheffield Blast tests in an attempt to model and predict the output of shallow buried charges. This data can then be fed into the Sheffield predictive model for blast behaviour, which is detailed in the paper linked to below.
Shock Transmission Through Geological Materials
The aim of the PhD will be to investigate the 3 zone model below. It is expected that zones 1 and 3 will be of lesser interest and zone 2 is where the work will be focussed.
- Zone 1: Cratering- total compaction of the layer with the material being ejected. This is assuming that the initial source is buried. For an above ground burst it is highly likely that cratering will not occur. It is proposed that this is covered by a focussed literature review.
- Zone 2: Dynamic compaction and shock propagation using the Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (Kolsky Bar) apparatus.
- Zone 3: Elastic shock propagation - traditional earthquake mechanics, soils can and have previously been quantified using "bender" element tests. It is proposed that this is covered by a focussed literature review.
If you're interested in one of these projects or would like to self-propose a project, please contact Sam on the email above. Current PhD opportunities in the department can be viewed here.