Investigations of blast loads on a two-storeyed building with a gable roof: Full-scale experiments and numerical study

Abstract

The design of buildings against explosion loads is a current topic in research and practice. The first step of the design process is to determine the blast loads on the building. Considerable studies were dedicated to the block-shaped buildings with a flat roof. However, there are rarely published studies on buildings with a gable roof, although it is the most common roof style in countries with cold climates. Furthermore, previously published studies were mostly based on small-scale tests or calculated the blast loads in a simplified manner. Moreover, only little research exists concerning the blast loads on the entire building, including the front wall, side walls and rear wall as well as the roof. Previous studies are mostly restricted to one or two building components. When every building component is of interest, a more refined analysis is necessary, which provides a more accurate description of the blast loads on the buildings. This study investigates the blast loads on a two-storeyed reinforced concrete (RC) and masonry building with a gable roof through full-scale experiments and numerical simulations. Five full-scale experiments were conducted. In total 33 pressure gauges were distributed over the building envelope to capture the overpressure-time histories, which were used to determine the blast loads (peak overpressures and maximum impulses). Numerical models were developed to design the experiments, and were validated against the experimental data measured at the pressure gauges. Using the validated numerical models, parametric studies are conducted to examine the influence of two specific parameters of the buildings with a gable roof, i.e. the length of the roof overhang and the roof slope, on the blast loads. Two important conclusions are drawn from the experimental and numerical investigations. • Five full-scale experiments were conducted to investigate the blast loads on a two-storeyed building with a gable roof. • Numerical models for different detonation locations are validated against the data measured at 33 pressure gauges. • The influence of the length of the roof overhang and the roof slope on the blast loads is explored.