Estimating safe scaled distances for columns subjected to blast

Abstract

This paper is concerned with determining the minimum stand-off distance required to prevent column failures in reinforced concrete framed buildings. This is of interest because column failures can initiate progressive collapse, resulting in mass casualties. A technique is developed to determine the critical range at which failure will occur for a given weight of explosives and thus provide a safe scaled distance. The method is used to carry out a parametric study of a range of reinforced concrete columns of variable dimensions and strengths. The corresponding data were used to predict safe scaled distances for columns (with and without clearing). These values can be used to estimate the minimum stand-off distance required to prevent progressive collapses of buildings that may be subjected to deliberate blast loading. Notation

An Efficient Reliability-Based Approach for Evaluating Safe Scaled Distance of Steel Columns under Dynamic Blast Loads

“…Accordingly, the need of empirical but accurate tolls in support of design optimization is an ongoing challenge. Among others, Byfield and Paramasivam [7] developed an iterative method to establish the minimum SSD of Reinforced Concrete (RC) columns for a given charge weight, column geometry and material. The iterative process must be repeated until the strength of the column is equal to the dynamic force in it.…”

Editorial

“…The paper by Byfield and Paramasivam (2014) on determining the minimum stand-off distance required to prevent column failures in reinforced concrete framed buildings subject to blast forms an interesting link with the papers contained within the recent blast-themed issue of Engineering and Computational Mechanics (Volume 166 Issue EM3). In particular, its treatment of the scaled distance at which reinforced concrete columns begin to fail and the minimum stand-off distance for use in congested urban areas is related to the work reported by Wilkinson et al (2013) on the use of scaled distance curves to calculate blast loads.…”