Blast Loads

Analytic techniques and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software programs are currently in use for assessing the blast loads on military structures for a variety of situations. These approaches, of necessity, are now being extended to the calculation of explosion-structure interaction problems where the loadings are not upon hardened military targets but rather on civilian structures. This has become of great importance as high explosive bomb attacks have been increasingly directed against many commercial, financial and civic centers consisting of buildings of conventional, "soft" construction. One aspect in the protection of such structures is the accurate prediction of the blast loadings on structural components using analytic or advanced numerical tools taking into account the complexity of the building, its geometry and the surrounding environment. Such an understanding of the loads can help define building protection options such as selection of materials, relocation of building services, siting, and construction techniques. Various different numerical and analytic techniques are discussed and illustrated by example...