B.M. Abou-Zeid1, W.W. El-Dakhakhni2, A.G. Razaqpur3, B. von Rosen4 and S. Foo5
- D Candidate, Center for Effective Design of Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada, abouzebm@mcmaster.ca
- Martini, Mascarin and George Chair in Masonry Design, Center for Effective Design of Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada, eldak@mcmaster.ca
- Professor, and Chair of Effective Design, Center for Effective Design of Structures, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada, razaqpu@mcmaster.ca
- Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory, Natural Resources Canada, vonRosen@NRCan-RNCan.gc.ca
- Senior Engineer (Risk Management), Real Property Branch, Public Works & Government Services Canada, simon.foo@pwgsc.gc.ca
ABSTRACT
Recent events have drawn considerable attention to the vulnerability of structural and nonstructural elements subjected to blast loads. Unreinforced masonry (URM) concrete walls are commonly constructed as exterior infill panels. These walls are conceived as a source of hazard to building occupants when an external explosion occurs outside the building. The present experimental results show that forcing URM walls to arch against rigid supports significantly enhances their out-of-plane blast resistance. A total of 12 full-scale URM concrete walls were constructed and tested using live explosives. In this paper, the results of two of these walls will be presented. Reflected blast pressure and impulse as well as the wall’s central deflection-time history were recorded for each shot. In addition threat level and damage were correlated with the charge size and the stand-off distance. The walls resistance was significantly improved by forcing the walls to arch through provision of arching thrust resisting support conditions.
KEYWORDS: arching, blast load, dynamic response, unreinforced masonry
C4-5
