Global Response of a Three-Story Building Exposed to Blast Loading

Abstract

Experimental data from full-scale experiments with reinforced concrete buildings exposed to blast loading are limited. As full-scale experiments are expensive, numerical simulations of the global response of structures exposed to blast loading may be an attractive substitute. A full-scale experiment on a three-story reinforced concrete building exposed to air-blast is employed to evaluate the performance of FE simulations to represent global response of reinforced concrete structures. The building experienced close to elastic response in the load bearing walls and columns, while cracks were observed in the front wall facing the charge. FE simulations of the global response of the building are performed with a solid element model and a structural element model (shell elements) to compare accuracy to computational cost. The results show that the FE simulations with solid and structural elements give an adequate representation of the global response of the building to a relatively low cost.

The Effect of Scaling Building Configuration Blast Experiments on Positive Phase Blast Wave Parameters

“…While a great deal is known about free-field explosions and their propagation across large distances without the presence of obstacles [8][9][10], research efforts are currently focussed on various built environment aspects as these are far less well understood. These include building geometry in singular structure experiments [11][12][13][14], environmental landscapes [15], protective structures [16,17], and the influence of cities [18][19][20] and street configurations [20,21], for example. For a review of blast wave interaction effects with structures conceptualised as obstacles, the reader is directed to Isaac et al [22], while Radcliff et al [23] contain a comprehensive review of blast loading in urban settings.…”