Engineering Models for Damage to Structural Components Subjected to Internal Blast Loading

The team of Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) and Applied Research Associates (ARA) will develop a fast-running methodology that predicts damage levels of structural members subject to the blast environment from high explosives detonated inside a building (i.e., internal explosions). The research in Phase I will focus on reinforced concrete slab components. The methodology will consist of a combination of pressure-impulse (P-i) diagrams, scaled structural response curves for internal blast loads from TM 5-1300, a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model, and design charts for localized response. Criteria will be included to select the fast-running methodology that is most applicable and efficient for each component depending on several factors including the blast load characteristics. Although each of these methods exists in a current form, significant work will be performed to modify them as necessary so that they are more applicable for efficiently analyzing components subject to internal blast loads. Also, significant work will be performed to understand internal blast loads using data and calculated values. The methodology will be validated utilizing existing test data and synthetic data generated by high fidelity computational codes. It will also demonstrate implementation of the methodology into VAPO.