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

Predicting the response of building components to internal detonations is more complex than the corresponding task for external loads because of the more complex loading waveforms which include multiple reflections in the shock phase followed by a long duration pseudostatic loading that depends upon room venting. Add the possibility of additional impulsive loading from primary debris. We propose to generate a fast running model capable of predicting damage from internal detonations incurred by a wide variety structural components, materials and construction methods, e.g., steel stud walls, reinforced concrete, concrete masonry units, etc. Step one involves categorizing and simplifying the variety of possible loading wave forms and parametrizing them for use as loading functions in the detonation room as well as adjacent rooms. We propose to use the MAZ computational fluid dynamics code and available experimental data to categorize the appropriate waveforms and then reduce them to simplified loading functions that produce the equivalent structural responses. We will use the FLEX computational structural dynamics code plus existing test data to generate a damage data base that will be incorporated into a fast running damage response model. The model will be validated against first principles computations and existing and new test data.