Engineering:Blast Effects Analysis
Blast Effects Analysis is the study of the interaction between blast wave and objects the blast wave comes into contact. With the advancement in modelling and simulation technology, BEA is conducted in simulated environment and with this approach, many designs for blast resilience and/or various hostile scenarios can be economically assessed in a relatively short period of time.
Terrorism has become a concern, particularly in city centres and around government and military buildings. Still, many buildings are constructed based only on building codes that lack design considerations intended to prevent or mitigate impact from an explosive blast. To enhance a building’s protection features, one approach is to use the conventional table & chart method, which employs a set of heuristics that the user can use to estimate the blast effects. A second method is to use simulation technology to predict the blast effects on buildings. The table & chart method designed as a one-size-fits-all instrument aims to cover as many building features, sizes, shapes and scenarios as possible, may lead to under- or over-estimation. Despite this shortcoming of the table & chart method, it provides instant estimations and relatively easier to use.
On the other hand, the blast effects simulation method offers bespoke assessment specific to a particular building’s features or scenarios and delivers much more accurate results than those obtained from the table & chart method. In this method, variables such as the mass, size, shape, orientation, location and other variables of the explosive charge, location of the building, proximity to neighbouring buildings, building shape, orientation, height, concrete wall thickness, concrete compressive and tensile strengths, condition of building and reinforcement bars, windows to wall ratio, window anchorage, window glass types and other building features are factored into the numerical model. Then, the simulation nonlinear transient algorithm will compute and predict how the building under assessment will respond to the impulse generated by the explosion. Whilst the benefits of using the blast effects simulation method are obvious, in the real-world the drawbacks of using this method are it may take several days to complete the iterations and using simulation technology to obtain accurate results can be difficult for many.[1][2]
 |
