Silos structural response to blast loading

Abstract

Extensive research work has been conducted to study the structural behavior of silos for various static load types; namely the grain load compression phases inside the silos and the thermal loads. However, very few investigations were related to the effect of different dynamic loads on silos, especially shock and blast loads. The aim of this research is to evaluate the structural response of grain silos due to massive blast loads. The Beirut explosion that occurred on August 04, 2020 is considered as a case study in a structural engineering approach with numerical non-linear finite element modeling of the silos. Due to the uncertainty of the exploded material mass, the magnitude of the explosion is defined as the numerical model magnitude that generates the same silos damages and sways recorded on site. The numerical study models are based on silos data (geometrical and material properties), and the use of the Conventional Weapons Effects Blast Loading (CONWEP), and the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) methods to generate the blast loads. In addition, damage for the standing silos has been assessed, and final recommendations were stated. The results of this study define the magnitude of the explosion and the structural state of the remaining silos.