Blast effects on buildings

Second edition

To Emma

Blast effects on
buildings
Second edition

Published by Thomas Telford Limitd, 40 Marsh Wall, London E14 9TP.

www.thomastelford.com

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First published 1995

This second edition 2009
Also available from Thomas Telford Limited
Application of codes, design and regulations. R. K. Dhir , M. D. Newlands and A. Whyte.
ISBN: 978-0-7277-3403-7
Progressive collapse of structures. U. Starossek. ISBN: 978-0-7277-3610-9

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ISBN: 978-0-7277-3521-8
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Contents
Foreword to the second edition
Acknowledgements
About the editors
List of authors
1

xi
xiii
xiv
xvi

Introduction
Major General Christopher Elliott CB MBE, Arup Security
Consulting
Objective
Scope
Modern terrorism
Risk
The special effect of catastrophic loss
Partial factors in blast design
A design philosophy: planning for protection

Basic guidelines for enhancing blast resilience

Geoff Mays, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
David Hadden, Arup Security Consulting
The requirements of the client
Design features
Blast loading and stand-off
Response of a building to blast load
Protected spaces
References

Blast loading
Peter Smith, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Notation

1
3
5
5
6
6
7

8
9
12
17
25
29
30

30
v

vi

Introduction
Explosions
Explosion classification
Explosives classification
Blast waves in air from high explosives
Blast waves in air from vapour cloud explosions
Blast wave interactions
Basic blast wavefront parameters
Blast wave parameters for loading on structures
Blast wave scaling laws
Reflection coefficients
Regular and Mach reflection
External blast loading of structures
Internal blast loading of structures
Conclusions
References

32
32
33
33
34
36
37
37
39
41
44
45
48
53
56
58

Prediction of blast loads

David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Conrad Izatt, Arup
Notation
Introduction
Categorisation of techniques
Empirical methods
Phenomenological methods
First-principle methods for blast loads from high explosives
and deflagrative events
References

59

Structural response to blast loading

Peter Smith, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Notation
Introduction
Elastic SDOF structure
Evaluation of the limits of response
Iso-damage diagrams
Energy solutions for specific structural components
Lumped mass equivalent SDOF systems
Resistance functions for specific structural forms
Advanced SDOF methods for blast analysis

80

59
59
60
61
65
66
77

80
81
82
85
86
92
94
97
99

Discussion
References

101
102

Design of elements in structural steel

Geoff Mays, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
Ian Feltham, Arup
Mike Banfi, Arup
Notation
Introduction
Objectives
Design loads
Design strengths
Deformation limits
Behaviour of structural steelwork subject to blast loading
Flexural design of structural steel elements to resist blast
loading quasi-static/dynamic response
Flexural design of structural steel elements to resist blast
loading impulsive response
Dynamic reactions
Design example: structural steel beam subject to
quasi-static/dynamic load
Design of connections in structural steelwork
Steelwork detailing for steel structures subject to blast
loading
References

103

103
104
104
105
105
107
108
111
114
115
115
117
118
118

Design of elements in reinforced concrete and masonry

119
Geoff Mays, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
Ian Feltham, Arup
Notation
119
Introduction
121
Objectives
122
Design loads
122
Design strengths
123
Deformation limits
126
Behaviour of reinforced concrete subject to blast loading
127
Flexural design of reinforced concrete elements to resist
blast loading
130
Flexural design of reinforced concrete impulsive response 131
Flexural design of reinforced concrete quasi-static/
dynamic response
133
vii

Design of reinforced concrete elements for shear under

blast loading
Dynamic reactions
Design example 1: reinforced concrete cantilever subject
to impulsive load
Design example 2: reinforced concrete wall panel subject
to quasi-static/dynamic load
Detailing reinforcement in concrete subject to blast
loading
Design of connections
Spalling and breaching of reinforced concrete under blast
loading
Design of masonry structures to resist blast loading
References
8

viii

Design of elements in steelconcretesteel composite

materials
Neil Coyle, Corus Bi-Steel
David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Notation
Introduction
Objectives
Design loads
Design strengths
Deformation limits and design cross-sections
Behaviour of steelconcretesteel composite elements
subject to blast loading
Stiffness
Shear design
Transverse shear design
Longitudinal shear design
Design of SCS elements to resist blast loading
Design example 1: SCS cantilever subject to impulsive load
Comparison of SCS and reinforced concrete
Detailing of SCS structures
References
Design of glazing
David Smith, Arup Security Consulting
David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Notation

136
139
139
142
146
147
148
150
152
154

154
156
156
156
157
157
158
164
164
165
165
166
168
174
175
176
177

177

Introduction
Types of glazing and behaviour under blast loading
Levels of blast enhancement
Framing systems
Design of laminated glass for blast loads
Derivation of the resistance function for a laminated
glass pane
Design example 1: single-glazed laminated glass pane
subject to blast load
Design example 2: single-glazed laminated glass pane
subject to increased blast load
Iso-damage analysis
Calculation of edge reaction forces
Glazing hazard classification
References
10 Whole-building response to blast damage
David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Notation
Introduction
Disproportionate versus progressive collapse
Protection and disproportionate collapse
Development of robustness requirements in national standards
Tolerability of risk
Methods of design for structural robustness
Tie-force-based design methods
Alternate loadpath methods
Alternate loadpath analysis procedures
Key element design methods
Discussion
References
11 Vehicle-borne threats and the principles of hostile
vehicle mitigation
Paul Forman, Centre for the Protection of National
Infrastructure (CPNI)
Dorian Evans, Ministry of Defence
Gary Heward, MFD International
Introduction
Types of vehicle-borne threat
Site assessment for vehicle-borne threats

177
180
184
187
190
194
202
208
208
210
211
214
216
216
216
217
218
218
223
226
228
230
237
245
246
247
250

250
253
255
ix

Principles of hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM)

Principles of design of vehicle security barriers for
high-energy impact
Foundation requirements for vehicle security barriers
References

257
269
271
273

12 Design of building services under blast loading

John Taylor, Castra Consulting
Introduction
Effects of explosions on building services
Principles of design
Design of services to support life safety
Design of services to aid escape and evacuation
Design for service continuity
Design for ease of recovery
Fixing, mounting and containment of building services
References

274

13 Implications for building operation

Chris Veale, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure
(CPNI)
Introduction
Managing the risk
The threat assessment
Pre-event contingency planning
Post-event contingency planning
Useful publications
References

290

274
274
275
277
282
283
284
285
289

290
292
292
292
295
295
297

Appendices
A Equivalent SDOF properties for beams and slabs
B Maximum deflection and response time for elasto-plastic
SDOF systems
C Design flowchart
D Conversion factors

309
319
323

Index

325

299

Foreword to second edition

In the fourteen years since the publication of the first edition of this
book, terrorism has evolved in scope and scale. In this second edition
we have attempted to update and expand the material to reflect the
development of the field of blast engineering in response to the
evolving terrorist threat. For the first time, material on hostile vehicle
mitigation is included, as is a chapter on the design of building
services against blast loads. Several parts of the field have developed
substantially since the first edition, in particular methods for the
design of glazing against blast loads which have benefited from an
extensive research and development programme in both the UK and
the US. Computational and numerical analysis permits us to evaluate
problems in ways which were not possible fourteen years ago. In
addition, we have expanded the scope to include material on the
design of buildings against other forms of blast such as industrial
explosions, vapour cloud explosions and deflagrations.
David Cormie
Geoff Mays
Peter Smith
London and Shrivenham, June 2009

xi

Acknowledgements
I am indebted to my co-editors, Professor Geoff Mays and Dr Peter Smith,
editors of the first edition for being receptive to my original proposal to
prepare a second edition of this book, and for their unwavering support
during its writing. I hope this edition does justice to its predecessor and
manages to retain its accessible style and content. I am enormously
grateful to the chapter authors for their invaluable contributions.
The preparation of the second edition was supported financially by
Arups Design and Technology Fund. I am grateful to Arup for this
support, and to Cranfield University at the Defence Academy and to
the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure. I also wish to
extend my thanks to my colleagues in Arup Security Consulting and
elsewhere in Arup, notably Arup Advanced Technology & Research.
Eduardo Aja of Arup Security Consulting has prepared the examples in
Chapter 4, for which Tim Rose of the Atomic Weapons Establishment
has permitted us to use Air3d and has undertaken a valuable review of
the chapter. Corus has generously made available their design methods
for Corus Bi-Steel in Chapter 8. John Colvin of John Colvin Glass
Consultant kindly assisted with material relating to the forthcoming EN
Standards for glass. Bassam Izzuddin of Imperial College has reviewed
Chapter 10 in detail and has provided many valuable suggestions for its
improvement. Tom Ward has helped me with a number of the figures
and Simon Blakeney with some of the photographs. Vivianne Kollevris
of Arup Security Consulting has reviewed large parts of the text in
meticulous detail with an unassailable and seemingly inexhaustible
enthusiasm. I am enormously grateful for her meticulous eye for detail,
without which a number of errors would have made it into print. Any
that remain are mine alone.
Without the support and encouragement of my wife Emma, none of
this would have been possible. Thank you.
David Cormie
London, June 2009
xiii

About the editors

David Cormie is an Associate with Arup Security Consulting and a
senior member of the counter-terrorist team. He has spent his career
specialising in the behaviour of buildings and structures under
extreme loads and specialises in blast engineering, with particular
interest in structural robustness. He leads the counter-terrorism
design of projects worldwide including airports, mass transit
infrastructure, commercial and government buildings, international
sporting venues and strategic assets. He has delivered short courses
on blast engineering and been invited to speak at conferences across
the world on the design of buildings to be resilient against terrorism.
He is a chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and
the Institution of Structural Engineers.
Professor Geoff Mays is Professor of Civil Engineering and Head of
School for Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the
United Kingdom. He conducts research and consultancy and lectures
on postgraduate courses in the fields of structural resilience to blast
loading and the strengthening of concrete structures. An author of
over ninety papers for refereed journals and conference proceedings,
he has also written books on the durability of concrete structures and
adhesives in civil engineering. He was the Convenor of the CEN
Committee which led the development of European Standards for
the protection and repair of concrete structures and remains the
chair of its working group concerned with structural bonding.
Dr Peter Smith is Reader in Protective Structures with Cranfield
University at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at
Shrivenham. He lectures on Masters programmes and shorter courses
in the UK and worldwide on blast loading, structural response and
design. He has supervised research contracts and undertaken
consultancy in this general area for both commercial and government
xv

organisations. He is the author of over 100 journal and conference

papers and technical reports as well as books in the blast area. He is
currently a member of a European working group concerned with
explosion effects on urban buildings.

xvi

List of authors
Mike Banfi, Arup
David Cormie, Arup Security Consulting
Neil Coyle, Corus Bi-Steel
Major General Christopher Elliott CB MBE, Arup Security Consulting
Dorian Evans, Ministry of Defence
Ian Feltham, Arup
Paul Forman, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure
David Hadden, Arup Security Consulting
Gary Heward, MFD International
Conrad Izatt, Arup
Geoff Mays, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
David Smith, Arup Security Consulting
Peter Smith, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy
John Taylor, Castra Consulting
Chris Veale, Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure

xvii

1
Introduction
Objective
The purpose of this book is to give engineers and architects a better
understanding of the opportunities (and of their own and their clients
responsibilities) to provide buildings which minimise damage to people
and property in the event of an explosion. Of course, the focus is on the
damaging effects of terrorist attacks, but the principles herein can be
applied to all explosive events. It is not a design manual, requiring
compliance, but a design handbook, giving guidance and practical advice.
Since the first edition was published in 1995, the threat of terrorism
has evolved in scope and scale, particularly with the emergence of
suicide bombers prepared to die in the act of delivery. Regrettably,
terrorism shows every sign of enduring for a long season yet. So
normal has it become that counter-terrorist measures are
now considered usual in most commercial and recreational activities;
protection is now common-place in infrastructure projects and there
is heightened curiosity about what can be achieved in this area. This
has helped the blast engineer very considerably in attracting attention
to the benefits of sensible protective design.
However, it was the deliberate flight of two fully-fuelled aircraft into
the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 2001 that
changed awareness most abruptly. Initial astonishment at the act was
replaced by a recognition that terrorists would explore any opportunity
presented, bounded only by what was possible within the laws of physics.
The simultaneous attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon have left a deep imprint on perceptions: the ambition of
the terrorists involved; the elegance and the novelty of their method
of attack; the complexity of their preparations; the callous and casual
murder of thousands of innocents; the initial disruption to a highly
interconnected commercial world (and also the surprising resilience
achieved through that interconnectivity); the insult delivered to
national self-esteem with consequences far beyond the attack itself.
1

Blast effects on buildings

Yet the buildings performed extremely well under what was an

unscripted attack for them, for they remained standing long enough
for almost all those below the location of the impact to escape. Much
of this was due to an inherently robust structure and to a sensible
review of evacuation procedures by the owners following the 1993
detonation of a vehicle-borne device in the basement car park. Through
the experience learned, the evacuation rules for events which could
challenge the structural integrity of the building were changed from
stay put to evacuate with best speed.
These go to the heart of the philosophy laid out in this book: that
protection should be intelligent, thoughtful and holistic in approach,
not blind and expensive hardening against the greatest explosive
charge weight that a terrorist might be theoretically able to deliver.
It is a fact that too much is not done that could be done, because of
conflict of interest with planning and financial areas or lack of
imagination. An underlying purpose of this book is to give engineers
the arguments that will sway the debate in favour of sensible, practical,
economic measures being adopted, not discarded.
All this underlines the thesis of the first edition: that protective
measures were not solely about hardening and blast protection, but a
much more inclusive consideration about the balance between
protection and continuing normal life. However, since its first printing,
the field of blast engineering has expanded greatly and a great deal of
effort has been invested around the world in research and development
of counter-terrorist design, from the development of better methods of
analysis to manufacturers bringing new products to the market for
improving the counter-terrorist resilience of buildings. Much work has
been undertaken to improve the way in which we manage and respond
to incidents, in terms of evacuation and sheltering strategies, emergency
response and coordination, and recovery after an incident.
In parallel, significant advances have been made in numerous other
fields. The development in the field of computational fluid dynamics
has important applications in the prediction of blast loads that were
not possible fourteen years ago. As the oil and gas industry has matured,
technology developed for protection against gas deflagrations has
transferred onshore and into the high explosives arena. Our
understanding of structural behaviour has improved greatly with
regard to phenomena such as progressive collapse. The regulations
pertaining to progressive collapse in the UK Building Regulations
were revised in 2004. Research into structural collapse has also been
a very active field, and particularly so since the collapse of the World
2

Introduction

Trade Center on 9/11. The importance of ductility and rotation capacity of connections is now more generally recognised, as are the
concepts of robustness and resilience.
Facade design has moved on very significantly since the publication
of the first edition. Our understanding of the behaviour of glass, glazing
systems and facade framing systems has benefited from wide-ranging
programmes of research and development supported by full-scale testing
undertaken by the UK Government and the US Army Corps of
Engineers. Design methods have been developed for the design of
glazing systems based on fundamental theory of structural analysis,
rather than the semi-empirical methods contained in the first edition,
which are now outdated and obsolete.
Finally, the field of structural engineering continues to make
advances. With ever more demanding architectural and structural
forms being proposed, challenges present themselves apace to the
industrys structural engineers for more efficient, elegant, slender or
architecturally demanding solutions.
For all these reasons it has been appropriate to revise and expand the
original text, if it is to continue to provide authoritative and useful
guidance.

Scope
The chapters of this book have been thoroughly revised to update the
material to take account of the advances made in the field. The basic
guidelines for enhancing building resilience in Chapter 2 have been
retained and updated. Blast loading has now been split into two
chapters, with the theory of blast loading being covered in Chapter 3,
followed by a new chapter (Chapter 4) on the prediction of blast
loads. Chapter 4 describes the empirical methods available for the
prediction of blast loads and when they might be used or might indicate
that more advanced methods are necessary. A section is presented on
the use of semi-empirical methods and more advanced methods such
as computational fluid dynamics for the prediction of blast loads.
Chapter 5 describes the structural response to blast loading, and has
been revised and enhanced to include recent developments in advanced
single degree of freedom techniques for modelling structural behaviour.
The previous single chapter on the design of elements in steel and
reinforced concrete has now been split into separate chapters on each
material (Chapters 6 and 7), with a further chapter (Chapter 8) on
the design of elements in steelconcretesteel composite materials.
3

Blast effects on buildings

The material has been aligned with the Eurocodes in recognition of

their forthcoming adoption in the UK.
The methods for design of facade elements is perhaps the one area that
has altered most radically since this book was first published, and there is
now a separate chapter (Chapter 9) on the design of glazed facades.
Modern methods of analysis and design bear almost no resemblance to
the state-of-the-art methods that were available in 1995, thanks mainly
to a very extensive programme of full-scale tests carried out on glazing
by the UK government throughout the second half of the 1990s.
A new chapter (Chapter 10) has been included on the wholebuilding response to blast damage. This chapter includes discussion
on progressive and disproportionate collapse. Material is presented on
the issues of robustness as they apply to blast effects on buildings.
The chapter aims to give the practising engineer an insight into the
theory and modern approach to the fundamental analysis of collapse
following sudden structural damage. The aim is to provide the engineer
with an understanding of the phenomenon, its characteristics, and how
to go about a logical and coherent assessment of the vulnerability of a
building to collapse under blast loading. Where specific vulnerabilities
are identified in a structure, the engineer may choose to provide
protection to or enhance the robustness of a local structural element,
or to enhance the ability of the structure to redistribute load after
damage. Practical mitigation measures are presented for both these
approaches.
One area not covered in the first edition was the design of protection
against vehicle-borne attack. Penetrative vehicle attacks on buildings
have become a common occurrence around the world, and the engineer
is now frequently asked to consider the design of vehicle protection for
high-energy impact. In Chapter 11 the principles of design of vehicle
restraint measures to protect military, government and commercial
buildings against high-energy impact are presented, enabling the
engineer to approach the problem competently.
Chapter 12 is a new chapter presenting the design of building services
under blast loading. The design of building services to exhibit resilience
under blast loading has become increasingly important as the emergency
response to terrorist threat has changed. Frequently, high-rise and largeoccupancy office buildings now adopt principles of inward evacuation,
seeking refuge in hardened or adequately protected areas of the
building. Consequently, the need arises for continuity of life safety
services under blast loading and due consideration of the design of
other building services during a blast event. Higher performance criteria
4

Introduction

for business-critical activities place greater resilience requirements on

building services, and this chapter discusses the design of building
services to withstand and provide continued safe operation through
and after a terrorist attack.
The final chapter of the book (Chapter 13) discusses implications for
building operation. The management of and response to incidents has
since the publication of the first edition benefited significantly from
substantial research and development in this area. The original content
of this chapter has been completely revised and extended to include the
findings of much of this work and to present an analysis of how we
operate our buildings to best manage and minimise the risks associated
with terrorist attack.

Modern terrorism
Terrorism has been described as the deliberate use of violence to create
a sense of shock, fear and outrage in the minds of a target population.
Several factors in the way we now live make that easy to achieve.
First, terrorists are able to make use of the media as never before to carry
a sense of terror to their target population, and television, in particular,
gives terrorists a political leverage out of all proportion to their other
powers. Second, developed societies have become very dependent on
complex, brittle systems (e.g. railways, airlines, gas pipelines, large
shopping areas and business centres) which are both vulnerable and
critical to societys function, and allows the terrorist many suitable targets.
Third, terrorists hide behind the camouflage of normal daily life. This
means that almost all effective measures to combat terrorism also carry
considerable constraints on individual freedoms, which governments
are rightly reluctant to impose, and often will not.
This leads to several conclusions: terrorism today is much easier
to contain than to eliminate; there are few completely acceptable
antidotes to it; the prudent design will allow for its effects wherever it
is possible and affordable.

Risk
Protection is not an absolute concept and there is a level of protection
where the cost of protection provided with respect to the cost of the
potential loss is in balance. Protection can never offer a guarantee of
safety; conversely, too much protection is a waste of resources with
regard to what is being saved.
5