Forensic investigation of blast damage to British buildings

Abstract

Buildings in mainland Britain have suffered from several serious blast incidents over the past two decades, from the 1992 St Mary Axe bomb in the City of London to the Buncefield oil depot explosion in 2005. This paper is based on the authors' experiences of investigating and repairing the resulting damage to many of the major buildings involved in these incidents. It describes how forensic investigation – including laboratory and on-site testing and computer modelling and analysis techniques – was vital to these investigations to assess dynamic response, extent of damage and residual strength of the buildings and structural elements.