Numerical and Experimental Investigations on the Blast-Resistant Properties of Arched RC Blast Doors

Abstract

In order to have a clear understanding of the blast-resistant properties of blast doors, full scale in-situ tests of an arched reinforced concrete blast door subjected to explosions outside a tunnel entrance were carried out. An elaborative three-dimensional FE analysis was conducted to numerically evaluate the structural response of the blast door. The blast loads applied on the door in the FE analysis were simulated by using the FE program AUTODYN and simplified to be triangular loads without consideration of the rising time. The dynamic responses of the tested blast door under single and multiple blast loads were analyzed by using the FE program ABAQUS which adopted a rate-sensitive material model combined with a concrete plastic damage model. The results of numerical simulation were compared with the experimental data. It is demonstrated that the strain-rate effects and nonlinear contacts between the door leaf and the doorframe steel plate as well as the enclaves and the steel tube have considerable influence on the responses of the arched reinforced concrete blast door. The mid-span displacement of the door increased with the increase of the number of explosions. The blast door finally failed after eight explosions.