The standard approach in protective design is to model blast loads with a triangular pulse shape which is characterized by the peak reflected overpressure and the reflected impulse. The US and European threat levels, GSA and ISO EXV, define pressure-impulse combinations for blast load characterization. However, this approach neglects the underpressure phase. The actual decay of a blast load is nonlinear and can be modeled more accurately with an exponential approach which takes into account the underpressure phase. When considering underpressure effects, however, special attention should be paid to the modeling of the different reflection effects for the over- and underpressure phase. The authors derive a new reflection coefficient for the maximum underpressure. Based on a single degree of freedom system, the authors then determine the influence of the reflected underpressure phase for different systems. Especially for flexible systems subjected to weak blast loads, the underpressure significantly dominates the structural response. In these cases, the standard triangular approach is not on the safe side. This paper presents new demarcation criteria to rapidly assess the influence of the underpressure phase.

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In this paper, several material models are analyzed in order to represent and compare the behaviour of laminated glass subjected to blast loads. LS-DYNA and EUROPLEXUS are used for numerical simulation. These codes have different capabilities to describe the mechanical problem, especially the failure behaviour. The results of the simulations are compared to laboratory experimental results in order to validate the accuracy of the material models.

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This paper presents a possible approach for the assessment of folded plate structures made of glass laminates using a new connection detail. Following a brief introduction and discussion of the experimental connection detail, the results of conducted testing are summarized. An extensive numerical investigation using ANSYS is performed. Findings from these numerical investigations of the connection detail, namely a proposed load interaction and the influence of the kink angle on the utilization will be touched on. A simplified modelling procedure for the assessment of a structural system is presented and its results are discussed for a selected configuration. It is shown that the new connection detail is feasible for folded plate structures spanning up to 15 m. The paper concludes with proposing further research and an outlook.