BLAST DESIGN

Blast-Resistant Design
Considerations
What architects need to know to meet federal blast-resistance requirements

Clay Naito, Ph.D, P.E., Lehigh University

M
ost government and
military structures in the Over-Pressure
United States are required Blast Load
to consider blast demands and struc- Over-Pressure
Structure
tural integrity as part of the design Blast Load
process. To effectively meet these re-
quirements, a proper understanding
of the design process is helpful for all Primary
members of the design team, includ- Fragments
ing the architect and owner.
Secondary
Due to the heightened potential for
Fragments
intentional high-explosive detonations
in or adjacent to the buildings we
work and live in, buildings are often
Impact
designed to meet structural-integrity
requirements and to provide direct
blast resistance. These two approach- HE WALL
es are independent of each other and
are not always conducted in tandem. Detonation of a high-explosive device releases a pressure wave that creates a higher pressure demand, similar
conceptually to a wind load on a building. The magnitude and duration are proportional to the scaled distance
To understand the basis of these and origination of the object relative to the blast wave.
approaches requires a basic under-
standing of the blast event. Detona-
tion of a high explosive such as TNT reflected off the surface. This is simi- reinforced concrete elements will be
or ammonium nitrate and fuel oil lar conceptually to a wind load on a completely destroyed. These close-in
(ANFO) releases a pressure wave that building, creating a higher pressure blast detonations are referred to as
radiates outward from the detona- demand. near-field events. Bombings of this
tions source. When the wave meets The magnitude and duration of nature are most likely to occur with
objects in its path, the demand is this reflected pressure demand are structures in locations such as city
proportional to the scaled distance centers, where a protected perimeter
and the orientation of the object rela- is not possible. The damage is often
tive to the expanding blast wave. The local, resulting in the failure of one or
scaled distance is the ratio of the two columns or exterior elements at
Clay Naito, Ph.D., distance from the detonation (also the ground or second floor.
P.E., is associate
referred to as the standoff distance) In most cases, the location of
professor of engineering
in the Department of to the weight of explosive to the one- the potential detonation would be
Civil Engineering at third power. Consequently, a linear in- unknown. Consequently, structural
Lehigh University in crease in weight of explosive will not protection would require individual
Bethlehem, Pa. He has produce a linear increase in demand. armoring of all lower-level structural
written extensively on
the performance of
elements. The cost implications are
precast concrete to Structural-Integrity high and, due to the nature of most
achieve proper seismic Requirements armoring/hardening methods, the ar-
and blast-resistant For low values of scaled distance, chitectural aesthetics of the structure
designs. In 2008, he was
most structural components will be would be lost.
named the recipient of the Precast/Prestressed
Concrete Institutes Young Educator Achievement lost. For example, at a scaled distance Instead of hardening the building
Award. of 1.5 ft/lb1/3 or smaller, conventionally against this demand, structural-in-

28 ASCENT, WINTER 2011

tegrity requirements are used. These
requirements provide methods of de-
sign for the potential loss of structural
elements as opposed to strengthen-
ing methods for the components
themselves.
The goal of structural-integrity de-
sign is to provide enough strength
and redundancy to the building so the
failure of one component does not
result in a disproportionate collapse
of the remaining structure. An unfor-
tunate example of such a collapse
occurred during the bombing of the
Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma
City, where the loss of first-floor col-
umns resulted in the progressive col-
lapse of a large portion of the building.
Structural-integrity requirements
do not directly account for the dynam-
ics of the blast event. Instead, addi-
Recent tests by the Air Force Research Laboratory on precast, prestressed sandwich wall products will help
determine the blast resilience of conventional off-the-shelf insulated concrete sandwich wall construction. Visit our

Structural-integrity design website at www.pci.org/education/resources/index.cfm to view the video.

ensures the failure of one Air Force Tests Precast Panels

Jason Krohn, P.E., FACI
component does not
The first phase of a collaborative research program between the Air Force Re-
result in a total collapse. search Laboratory and the Portland Cement Association was recently completed
that examined the blast resilience of conventional off-the-shelf insulated concrete
sandwich wall construction.
tional integrity is provided through The Air Force program was supported by resources from PCI; precast manufac-
static-design methods and detailing turers; and practicing engineers and researchers from Lehigh University, Auburn
recommendations. One common University, and the University of Missouri. The study included experiments on pre-
method assumes that select structur- cast, prestressed concrete sandwich wall products as well as concrete masonry
al elements no longer exist, and the products, tilt-up products, and insulated stay-in-place concrete form panels.
remaining structure is checked using The precast concrete products were evaluated under full-scale blast demands
standard static-strength approaches in a three-story reaction structure. The performance was compared with existing
to determine if it has adequate capac- predictive methods and prevailing acceptable response limits used in the United
ity to carry the building loads through States for blast design. The initial program was conducted in two phases.
a new load path. Other methods re- The first phase, completed in 2007, performed blast tests on 30-foot span pan-
quire the addition of reinforcement in els. The second phase, completed in late 2010, provided more comprehensive
the floor and roof elements to allow study, including static testing of over 50 single-span and multispan panels, evalu-
the floor to span lost elements or spe- ation of tie connectors, and blast evaluation of multispan panels with realistic
cial detailing to handle possible load connections to the building structure.
reversals due to blast demands. This research will provide valuable information concerning each products abil-
Structural integrity is addressed ity to withstand explosive blasts, says Robert Dinan, past program manager. It
in current design through both gen- will help accurately predict behavior for threats often included in the design crite-
eral requirements and specific pro- ria for government facilities.
gressive collapse recommendations. Insulated concrete products have at times been excluded as construction op-
General requirements for structural tions because they lack the required research data, he explains. The process of
integrity are included in both ASCE 7 validating predictive models with full-scale experiments is essential to obtain valid
Minimum Design Loads for Buildings force-protection results.
and Other Structures [2010] as well as Validity is primarily determined by measuring wall deflection and reflective
the ACI 318 Code Requirements for pressures during the full-scale experiments. By measuring pressures, the engi-
Structural Concrete [2008]. neers are able to rerun the models using the actual pressures, seen during the
Two specific approaches for pro- experiment and compare the model deflections with the measured deflections to
gressive collapse have developed for ensure accuracy.
government and military structures. Initial evaluations show that the precast concrete panels performed well, ac-
They comprise: cording to reports still being finalized by Clay Naito, Mark Beacraft, John Hoe-
mann, Jonathan Shull, Bryan Bewick, and Mike Hammons for the Air Force Re-
U.S. Department of Defense, search Laboratory. It is expected that all reports will be released in 2011.
Unified Facility Criteria De- These efforts will help expand the options for designers in specifying blast-
sign of Building to Resist Pro- resistant materials and help to make building easier to design and safer for users.

ASCENT, WINTER 2011 29

 gressive Collapse, UFC 4-023- in the far field (i.e., at a moderate sis can be conducted using complex
03, January 2010. standoff from the structure). Under finite-element analyses; however,
this load case, the exterior compo- simplified methods provide adequate
U.S. General Services Admin-
nents of the structure are subject to accuracy at modeling the response.
istration (GSA), Progressive
the effects of the reflected pressure. The predominant method used
Collapse Analysis and Design
This consists of a short duration posi- in blast design is a single degree of
Guidelines for New Federal
tive pressure followed by a negative freedom (SDOF) approach. Using
Office Buildings and Major
pressure phase. SDOF methods, the structural com-
Modernization Projects, June
Typical high-explosive threats pro- ponents response is simplified to
2003.
duce positive-pressure durations that that of an equivalent mass-spring
The Unified Facility Criteria are are very short, on the order of 5 to 20 system, in which the equivalent
used for new construction, major milliseconds. For most structural ele- mass is related to the distribution
renovations, alterations, and leased ments, this short duration demand is of mass on the component and the
buildings. The criteria are specifically seen as an impulse. In other words, spring characteristics are related to
applied to facilities used by military the component (e.g., wall, beam, or the resistance of the component.
departments, the defense agencies, column) does not reach its peak re- Many tools have been developed to
and the Department of Defense sponse until after the pressure de- automate this evaluation, the most
(DoD) field activities. When DoD per- mand is past. prevalent being the Single-Degree-
sonnel occupy more than 25% of the of-Freedom Blast Effects Design
net building space, the criteria must Spreadsheets (SBEDS), available
be applied to the entire structure. Two specific approaches from the U.S. Army Corps [2008].
The GSA guidelines are used for
designing federal facilities. The guide for progressive collapse Two Key Aspects
is specifically used for new facilities, Two aspects of a blast design
assessment of existing facilities, and have developed for make it quite different from standard
development of upgrades where structural design. The first is that the
needed. Exemption is allowed for fa- government and military response of the system must be ana-
cilities with extremely low occupan- lyzed using dynamic response. Engi-
cy and extremely low likelihood for structures. neers unfamiliar with blast design of-
progressive collapse. An exemption ten incorrectly assume they can use
evaluation process is provided. an equivalent static load.
Both methods provide a com- Due to the impulsive nature of Simply designing for the dynamic
prehensive guideline for achieving most blast events, the design of blast pressures as static loads pro-
structural integrity. Either the UFC or structural components must account duces unrealistic and uneconomical
GSA approach can be used as guid- for the structural dynamics of the designs. Also, it is too conservative
ance for buildings outside of the U.S. response. The standard design ap- of an approach due to the inertial re-
government and military ownership proach of having the capacity of the sistance of the component. For ex-
where progressive collapse may be member be greater than the demand ample, a typical wind demand may
of concern. becomes a much more complex dy- be on the order of 200 lb/ft, while a
namic evaluation. peak reflected pressure due to an ex-
Blast Design Requirements Under dynamic loading, the plosion may be on the order of 7000
For large-scaled distances, struc- strength of the system can be con- lb/ft. Depending on the characteris-
tural components can be readily de- sidered a combination of the com- tics of the component (i.e., height,
signed to resist most blast demands. ponents resistance and the inertial reinforcement, thickness, weight), it
These demands are typically gener- force generated as the mass of the may have adequate mass and inher-
ated from a vehicle bomb detonated component is accelerated. This analy- ent resistance to support the blast
demand without any change from

30 ASCENT, WINTER 2011

the original wind design. Designing
the same system for a static load 35
For large-scaled distances, structural components can
times that of the wind load would re-
quire a considerably larger system.
be readily designed to resist most blast demands.
The second deviation from stan-
dard design is that blast evaluation determined by a risk analysis and rience. The consultant must ensure
is conducted with respect to de- finalized by the owner on a case-by- communication of design expecta-
formation of the component as op- case basis: tions and responsibilities. Ideally,
posed to the standard force-based All exterior elements of the struc- the consultant should be brought on
approach (i.e., applied demands are ture are to be designed for a right early in the project to provide effec-
less than capacity). The evaluation of triangular reflected pressure demand tive coordination among the owner,
acceptance is based on a true perfor- with a peak of 10 psi and impulse of architect, structural engineer, and
mance-based design methodology. 40 psi-msec. Under these demands, subcontractors.
The amount of deformation and dam- the building is required to meet a Understanding the basic concepts
age allowed under the blast demand Medium Level of Protection in accor- of blast-resistant design is useful to all
are tied to the level of protection re- dance with U.S. Army 2008. members of the design team. This will
quired for the structure and the type It is important to note that this arti- help to ensure that the appropriate de-
of component under evaluation. cle provides only a general overview sign criteria are applied and executed
Design levels of protection (LOP) of design requirements. Proper im- throughout the design and construc-
are broken into four categories: very plementation of the prevailing crite- tion process, producing a building ca-
low, low, medium, and high. As an ria is critical and should be conducted pable of resisting the expected blast
example, consider a building clad with the assistance of an engineer- demands with an adequate level of
with 12-foot-tall, non-load-bearing re- ing consultant with appropriate expe- protection to the occupants.
inforced concrete walls. If a medium
LOP is required, the walls would be
limited to a deflection of 2.5 inches. References To learn more about the precast
For a very low LOP, the allowable These references will provide more concrete tests performed by the Air
deflection increases to 12.7 inches. details about blast resistance: Force mentioned in the sidebar, keep
This performance-based approach is an eye out for the availability of the
1. ACI Committee 318. Build-
prescribed in detail by the U.S. Army following references:
ing Code Requirements for
[2008]. Structural Concrete and Com- 1. Naito, C., Hoemann, J., Shull,
For structures subject to a pos- mentary. American Concrete J., Beacraft, M., Bewick, B.,
sible reflected blast pressure, two Institute. Farmington Hills, MI. and Hammons, M. Dynamic
points of information are required for 2008. www.concrete.org. Performance of Non-Load
the design engineer: (1) pressure- Bearing Insulated Concrete
time demand and (2) LOP. Due to the 2. American Society of Civil En-
Sandwich Panels Subject To
dynamics of the blast, the change in gineers (ASCE), Minimum
External Demands, Air Force
reflected pressure as a function of Design Loads for Buildings
Research Laboratory Report,
time must be defined. This can be and Other Structures, ASCE
2010 (Under Review).
accomplished by a statement of the Standard ASCE/SEI 7-10, 2010,
quantity of TNT and standoff, or the ISBN 978-0-7844-1115-5. 2. Naito, C., Hoemann, J., Shull,
peak positive reflected pressure and J., Saucier, A., Salim, H., Be-
3. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
corresponding positive impulse (i.e., wick, B., and Hammons, M.
Single Degree of Freedom
energy under the pressure-time de- Static Performance of Non-
Structural Response Limits for
mand curve). Load Bearing Insulated Con-
Antiterrorism Design, Protec-
The explosive threat and standoff crete Sandwich Panels Sub-
tive Design Center Technical
can be easily used to determine the ject To External Demands, Air
Report, PDC-TR 06-08, Rev. 1,
pressure-time response. However, Force Research Laboratory Re-
January 2008.
unsecure transfer of this information port, 2010 (Under Review).
is not recommended. Unlike a bridge 4. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
3. Naito, C., Hoemann, J., Bewick,
where statement of the allowable de- Users Guide for the Single-
B., and Hammons, M., Evalu-
sign truck load is needed for safe op- Degree-of-Freedom Blast Ef-
ation of Shear Tie Connectors
eration, an open statement of the de- fects Design Spreadsheets
for Use in Insulated Concrete
sign-blast charge and standoff provides (SBEDS). Report PDC TR-06-
Sandwich Panels, Air Force
information to the terrorist as to what 02 Rev 1. September, 2008.
Research Laboratory Report,
bomb to detonate. Consequently, de-
5. PCI Journal, Nov.-Dec., 2007, AFRL-RX-TY-TR-2009-4600,
mands are often defined as pressures
pg. 53. December 2009.
and impulses, and protection of the
design loads should be maintained. 6. Designer Notebook, Ascent 4. Naito, C., Dinan, R., Hoemann,
The second piece of information Spring, 2004-Winter, 2005. J., and Fisher, J., Precast/Pre-
needed is the LOP and the prevail- stressed Concrete Experiments
ing response limits. As an example, Series 1 (Volume I), Air Force
the following statement can be used For more information on these or other Research Laboratory Report,
projects, visit www.pci.org/ascent
as a model. Obviously, the actual de- AFRL-RX-TY-TR-2008-4616, No-
mand and protection level are to be vember 2008.

ASCENT, WINTER 2011 31