BLAST RESISTANT DESIGN OF RC FRAMES

Abstract

Proper control levels of lateral drifts anticipated for reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures within the predefined performance level becomes crucial when the frame structure is subjected to distant intense surface explosions. For this purpose, a design method is presented based on the transformation of a blast loading into an equivalent static force (ESF). The ESF is calculated in such a manner that the same maximum inter-storey drift ratio (MIDR) under the blast loading will be reproduced. The work focuses on the computational model of ESF for a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system and the design method based on ESF with the requirement for controlling its maximum displacement response to achieve the specified target displacement. The model for the calculation of an equivalent static force (ESF) for SDOF systems is extended into the design for a reinforced concrete (RC) frame structure under distant blast conditions. The use of the method is demonstrated with two six-storey RC frame structures and one nine-storey RC frame. The results indicate that the maximum inter-storey drift ratios (MIDR) of the three designed frame structures in comparison to their respective targets are conservative to some extent.