Passive blast protection of buildings by ductile steel-based envelopes

Abstract

The growth of industrialization and the rapid expansion of densely populated urban areas have increased the risk caused by technological and man-made hazards. In particular, the accidental or intentional detonation of high explosives (e.g., improvised explosive devices IEDs), can cause damages to buildings and infrastructures and severe harm people. These risks can be minimized by a better planning, design, and construction, e.g., avoiding brittle construction materials, especially within the building envelope, and adopting more robust construction techniques. The study presented in the paper investigates the capacity of light steel-based wall panels to resist the effects of external explosions. The experimental results showed the ultimate capacity of the wall panels is strongly dependant on the initial design conditions and panel-to-structure fastening solution. A numerical model has been also calibrated using Etabs program.