Design Against Blast: Load Definition & Structural Response

Terrorist attacks and other destructive incidents caused by explosives have, in recent years, prompted considerable research and development into the protection of structures against blast loads. For this objective to be achieved, experiments have been performed and theoretical studies carried out to improve our assessments of the intensity as well as the space-time distribution of the resulting blast pressure on the one hand and the consequences of an explosion to the exposed environment on the other. This book aims to enhance awareness on and understanding of these topical issues through a collection of relevant, Transactions of the Wessex Institute of Technology articles written by experts in the field. The book starts with an overview of key physics-based algorithms for blast and fragment environment characterisation, structural response analyses and structural assessments with reference to a terrorist attack in an urban environment and the management of its inherent uncertainties. A subsequent group of articles is concerned with the accurate definition of blast pressure, which is an essential prerequisite to the reliable assessment of the consequences of an explosion.Other papers are concerned with alternative methods for the determination of blast pressure, based on experimental measurements or neural networks. A final group of articles reports investigations on predicting the response of specific structural entities and their contents. The book concludes with studies on the effectiveness of steel-reinforced polymer in improving the performance of reinforced concrete columns and the failure mechanisms of seamless steel pipes used in nuclear industry.

Table of Contents:
Integrated anti-terrorism physics-based modelling: threats, loads and structural response; A study of the JWL equation of state parameters of dynamite for use in airblast models; A comparison of hydrodynamic and analytic predicted blast pressure profiles; Numerical determination of reflected blast pressure distribution on round columns; Theory and calibration of JWL and JWLB thermodynamic equations of state; Prediction of airblast loads in complex environments using artificial neural networks; Laboratory scale tests for internal blast loading; Laboratory simulation of blast loading on building and bridge structures; Non-ideal explosive performance in a building structure; Aerodynamic damping and fluid-structure interaction of blast loaded flexible structures; Effect of silty-sand compressibility on transferred velocity from impulsive blast loading; Simplified evaluation of a building impacted by a terrorist explosion; Simplified blast simulation procedure for hazard mitigation planning; Blast-resistant highway bridges: design and detailing guidelines; Approximation of blast loading and single degree-of-freedom modelling parameters for long span girders; Simulation-based design of vehicles exposed to blast threats for improved occupant survivability; Blast protection in military land vehicle programmes: approach, methodology and testing; Blast testing of CFRP and SRP strengthened RC columns; Analysis of the explosive loading of open-ended steel pipes

About the Author :
Dr. Stavros Syngellakis is a Senior Lecturer in the Computational Engineering and Design Group in the Engineering and Environment Department at the University of Southampton, UK where he teaches courses on Numerical Techniques in Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis, Marine Safety and Environmental Engineering, Mechanics of Solids, Solids and Structures, and Automobile Systems. He is also affiliated with the Engineering Materials research group. His research focuses on Material characterization of welded joints, composites and bearing linings. Modeling of fracture in polymers, fatigue in bearings and erosion in coated components, and Novel numerical formulations and algorithms for analyzing plates and shells.