A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Response of Concrete Masonry Walls to Simulated Blast Loads
Concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls are a common building component that is vulnerable to blast loads created by terrorist attacks or accidental explosions. Reinforced, grouted CMU walls in particular lack sufficient flexural strength to resist the violent out-of-plane loads and typically exhibit a failure mode highlighted by the formation of a plastic hinge, which could lead to loss of stability and result in catastrophic collapse. The work described in this paper investigated the efficacy of carbon reinforced fiber polymer (CFRP) composites for retrofits of CMU walls to resist blast loads. The retrofit adds strength and stiffness to the wall allowing the wall to protect occupants behind it from the blast loads. Furthermore, the retrofit can improve the performance of load bearing walls by limiting displacements during a blast which increases its ability to resist the design gravity loads. Studies such as those by Muszynski and Purcell [2003], Myers et al. [2003, 2004], Tan [2003], Baylot et al. [2005], and Stanley [2005a, b] have conducted explosive tests on CMU walls retrofitted with various types of reinforced polymers. These types of tests are the most accurate method for demonstrating a structural response to a blast load; however there are issues that arise from testing with actual explosives. First, the test programs typically define a level of threat and only conduct the test to show that the retrofit does or does not work at that threat level. Also, the data measured during the test is often incomplete due to loss of instrumentation and cables during the blast. Finally, the behavior and failure modes of the specimen can only be determined through post-test investigations because it is difficult to view the specimen during a test due to the fireball and debris field created by the explosion. The study described in this paper overcame these issues by using an innovative testing device called the "blast simulator" to investigate the behavior of the retrofit walls for a range of simulated blast loads. This paper will show the effectiveness of CFRP retrofitted walls to a range of impulses while demonstrating that the blast simulator is valuable for validation of constitutive models used by numerical tools, specifically finite element (FE) analysis.
Response of Concrete Masonry Walls to Simulated Blast Loads
Concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls are a common building component that is vulnerable to blast loads created by terrorist attacks or accidental explosions. Reinforced, grouted CMU walls in particular lack sufficient flexural strength to resist the violent out-of-plane loads and typically exhibit a failure mode highlighted by the formation of a plastic hinge, which could lead to loss of stability and result in catastrophic collapse. The work described in this paper investigated the efficacy of carbon reinforced fiber polymer (CFRP) composites for retrofits of CMU walls to resist blast loads. The retrofit adds strength and stiffness to the wall allowing the wall to protect occupants behind it from the blast loads. Furthermore, the retrofit can improve the performance of load bearing walls by limiting displacements during a blast which increases its ability to resist the design gravity loads. Studies such as those by Muszynski and Purcell [2003], Myers et al. [2003, 2004], Tan [2003], Baylot et al. [2005], and Stanley [2005a, b] have conducted explosive tests on CMU walls retrofitted with various types of reinforced polymers. These types of tests are the most accurate method for demonstrating a structural response to a blast load; however there are issues that arise from testing with actual explosives. First, the test programs typically define a level of threat and only conduct the test to show that the retrofit does or does not work at that threat level. Also, the data measured during the test is often incomplete due to loss of instrumentation and cables during the blast. Finally, the behavior and failure modes of the specimen can only be determined through post-test investigations because it is difficult to view the specimen during a test due to the fireball and debris field created by the explosion. The study described in this paper overcame these issues by using an innovative testing device called the "blast simulator" to investigate the behavior of the retrofit walls for a range of simulated blast loads. This paper will show the effectiveness of CFRP retrofitted walls to a range of impulses while demonstrating that the blast simulator is valuable for validation of constitutive models used by numerical tools, specifically finite element (FE) analysis.
Response of Concrete Masonry Walls to Simulated Blast Loads
Oesterle, Michael G. (author) / Hegemier, Gilbert A. (author) / Morrill, Kenneth B. (author)
Structures Congress 2009 ; 2009 ; Austin, Texas, United States
Structures Congress 2009 ; 1-10
2009-04-29
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Response of Concrete Masonry Walls to Simulated Blast Loads
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2009
Blast Response of Lightly Attached Concrete Masonry Unit Walls
| British Library Online Contents | 2005
Blast Response of Lightly Attached Concrete Masonry Unit Walls
| Online Contents | 2005
Performance of Masonry Walls Strengthened with RC Wall Jacket Subjected to Simulated Blast Loads
| Trans Tech Publications | 2017