Blast resistance and mitigation strategies of structures: present status and future trends

Abstract

Nowadays, the assessment of blast resistance and mitigation strategies for structures subjected to blast loading are receiving great attention from engineers and researchers because of the increased number of accidental and/or malicious deliberate explosions around the world. As a result, there is a substantial increase in the research publications in terms of journal articles, conference proceedings, design codes and guidelines to familiarise the engineering community with this topic. In addition, advanced computational techniques and available resources have led to the development of different schemes for accurate prediction of blast wave parameters and the structural response. This study presents a comprehensive summary of blast effects on structures, material characteristics under high strain rates, modelling and analysis considerations, response criteria for various structural components and design guidelines. Blast testing, retrofit methodology and probable areas of future research are also critically discussed by collation and analysis of more than 100 research articles. Thus, this paper provides a systematic prologue that will serve as a concise guide to identifying the fundamental issues associated with the design of structures to resist explosion effects.