This book brings together, in a concise format, the key elements of the loads produced from explosive sources, and how they interact with structures. Explosive sources include gas, high explosives, dust and nuclear materials.

It presents quantitative information and design methods in a useable form without recourse to extensive mathematical analysis. The authors, Peter Smith and John Hetherington, are staff members at the Royal Military College of Science in Shrivenham and have been instrumental in establishing an active team studying the response of structures to blast and ballistic loading.