Blast Load and

Its Analysis
Design of Blast Resistant Structures
Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia
25/06/1996
Need
:
Increase in number of terrorist attacks.

To minimize damage to the assets

To minimize the loss of life.

To protect historical monuments and important buildings

To subside social panic

 Moving
vehicle
attack

Stationary
Ballistic
vehicle
attacks
bomb

Exterior
Others
attack

Arsons
What is blast ?
The detonation of a condensed high explosive generates
hot gases under pressure upto 300 kilobar and a
temperature about 3000-4000°C. The resulted compressed
air expands outward from the centre of the blast and
causes formation of wave in a wind medium having a
velocity greater than sound. So this blast wave causes air
pressure to rise and which is known as side on
overpressure. As the blast wave or shock wave traverses
path the overpressure gradually decreases. Now a vaccum
pressure zone gets generated behind the shock wave.
An explosion is a rapid release of potential energy characterized by eruption
enormous energy to the atmosphere.
A part of energy is converted to thermal energy radiation (flash) and a part
is coupled as air blast and shock waves which expand radially
Response of blast at various distances from the
source of explosion
 Figure: Blast wave pressure – Time history

Pso = Peak side on overpressure

Pso - = Negative max overpressure
td + is always less than td – and Pso + is always greater than Pso -
Design Consideration
As the impulse of the negative zone is less than the impulse of the positive
zone, the negative face is usually not taken into account for the design
purpose.

1.Explosive charge weight

2.Stand off distance
This is the distance from the source of explosion at which the blast effect
caused by standard charge weight is just equivalent to as caused by W
charge at distance R .
𝑅
Scaled distance Z = 1
(3 )
𝑊
Empirical relationships :
2. Newmark and Hansen (1961) :
1.Brode (1955) :

3. Mills (1987) :
 Dynamic pressure:
The air behind the front of the blast wave
moves along the same direction as wind
but with smaller velocity. These winds
result in loading of duration more than
positive phase. So the pressure caused
by these winds is called dynamic
pressure.
q(t) =qo * f(t)

The maximum value of dynamic pressure

=
Fig: Positive phase duration of over pressure
(parentheses) and dynamic pressure for 1 KN burst

The positive phase duration for overpressure and

dynamic pressure can be selected from fig
When wave front is obstructed by a structure a reflected blast wave gets generated
having higher pressure than the incident pressure. This pressure is called reflected
pressure. The reflection factor depends upon the orientation of the structure.

The maximum reflected overpressure =

Where,
Po = atmospheric or ambient pressure

As Pr > Pso , Pr is taken as design parameter.

Fig : Reflected overpressure
 IS Code provision:

As per IS 4991 – 1968 , the value of

the Pso, qs , Pr computed from
Table 1 for 1 tonne detonation
amount.

The pressure time relationship in

the positive phase are idealised by
using a straight line starting with
the maximum pressure value but
terminating at a time td or tq .
Fig : Assumed Plot

Fig : Actual Plot

There are two types of structures :
 Closed Rectangular Structure
 Open or Drag type structures
 Front face—The net pressure acting on the front face at any time t is
reflected overpressure Pr or (Ps + Cd * q) whichever is greater.
 Cd = drag coefficient given in Table – 2 of IS 4991 - 1968
Pr = reflected overpressure which drops from the peak value Pro to overpressure
(Ps + Cd * q) in clearance time tc
3𝑆
tc =
𝑈
Where
S = H or B/2 whichever is less
U = Shock front velocity = M.a
Where
a= velocity of sound in air which may be taken as 344m/s at mean sea level at 20° C
and
M = Mach no. of the incident pulse given by 1 + 6𝑃so/7𝑃a
The value of the M for various conditions are also tabulated in
Table -1 of IS 4991 - 1968
 The maximum reflected overpressure,
The net average loading on the front face (B X H) as function of time is shown in fig
depending on whether tc is smaller than or equal to td. The pressure Pro, Pso and qo
and time td are for actual explosion determined according to the Scaling laws.
Rear face:
The average loading on the rear face
(B X H) is taken as shown in Fig.-7
where the time has been reckoned
from the instant the shock first strikes
the front face. The time interval are
the following:
𝐿
= The travel time of shock from
𝑈
front to rear face
4𝑆
= Pressure rise time on back face
𝑈
Roof and side walls :
𝐿
When td > Transit time (tr) = ,the pressure diagram is given in fig.
𝑈
When tr > td ,the load on
roof and side walls may
be considered as moving
triangular pulse having
the peak value of
overpressure Pro or (Ps0 +
Cd * q0) and time td as
shown in fig 7b.
The net translation pressure on the obstructing areas of element may be taken
as shown in fig.

Where Cd= drag coefficient

depending upon shape of the
structure
tq = ½ to
Problem
on
Problem : Calculate the impulse of a blast load on a building
for positive phase using the given parameters.
Given Parameters

Detonation Amount 0.1tonne

Distance from ground Zero 30m

Height of Building 3m

Width of Building 10m

Length of Building 8m

Pa (ambient pressure) 1kg/cm2

a) Characteristics of the blast
Scaled Distance 64.63304m
From table -1 Assume Pa=1 kg/cm2
Pso 0.35367kg/cm2
Pro 0.806452kg/cm2
Qo 0.04219kg/cm2
to 37.70826mil sec
td 28.32257mil sec
Actual to 17.50262mil sec
Actual td 13.14617mil sec
M (Mach No.) 1.141554
Velocity of sound 344m/s
Shock front velocity (U) 392.6946m/s 0.392695m/mil sec

b)Pressures on the building

S (H or B/2 whichever is less) 3m
Clearance time(t𝑐) 22.91858mil sec
Transit time (t𝑡) 20.37207mil sec > td
Pressure rise time on back face (t𝑟) 30.5581mil sec
 0.9 Average front face loading
Peak reflected overpressure (Kg/cm2)
0.8 0.81

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time (mili sec)
Solution:
From the graph-
𝑡
Total impulse of force = 0
𝑃(𝑡)𝑑𝑡
1
= (0.81+0) * 13.15 * 102 *(Area)
2
1
= (0.81+0) * 13.15 * 102 *10*3 N-Sec
2
= 15977 N-sec
Problem: A 25m high full water tank is subjected to a force as
shown in the previous graph. Natural time period Tn = 1.12 sec.

The force is caused by above ground explosion. Neglecting effect of

damping, calculate base shear & moment at the base of tower
supporting the tank. The mass of the water tank = 10000 kg.
 1 Ƭ
Lateral deflection at any time, u = 0
𝑃 Ƭ 𝑆𝑖𝑛 𝑤 𝑡 − Ƭ 𝑑Ƭ =
𝑚𝑤
1 Ƭ
umax = 𝑃 Ƭ 𝑑Ƭ
𝑚𝑤 0
159277
=
10000∗(2 /1.12)
= 0.285 m

Base Shear = K*umax = mw2 *umax

= 10000 * (2∏/1.12)2 * 0.285
= 89604 N = 89.6 KN
Maximum Bending Moment = Base Shear * Height
= 89.6 * 25
= 2240 KN-m
 Stand off Distance = 30m
Charge Pro td t𝐜
Weight (kg/cm2) (mil sec) (mil sec)
(tonne)
0.2 1.266034 13.91818 21.72694
0.3 1.679215 14.40166 20.87335
0.4 2.102653 14.5682 20.13651
0.5 2.468371 14.83824 19.58105
1 4.2 15.39 17.63895
For Charge weight = 0.2 tonne
Reflected overpressure Vs td
1.4
1.266034
1.2
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2)

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2
0
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For Charge weight = 0.3 tonne

Reflected overpressure Vs td
1.8
1.679215
1.6
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2)

1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)

For Charge weight = 0.4 tonne
Reflected overpressure Vs td
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2) 2.5
2.102653
2

1.5

0.5

0
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For Charge weight = 0.5 tonne
3
Reflected overpressure Vs td
2.468371
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2)
2.5

1.5

0.5

0
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For Charge weight = 1 tonne
Reflected overpressure Vs td
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2) 18
1615.39
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
 Detonation Wt. vs Peak Reflected
Pressure
Tonne Pro 4.5

PEAK REFLECED PRESSURE (KG/CM2)

4
0.1 0.806452
0.2 1.266034 3.5

0.3 1.679215 3

0.4 2.102653
2.5

0.5 2.468371
1 4.2 2

1.5 y = 0.649x3 - 1.8276x2 + 5.0602x + 0.3183

R² = 1
1

0.5

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

DETONATION WT (TONNE)
 Detonation amount = 0.1 tonne

Stand off Pro td t𝐜

Distance (kg/cm2) (mil sec) (mil sec)
(m)
10 12.13074 4.48978 13.6224
15 3.62087 7.473143 18.19483
20 1.857502 9.611829 20.55338
25 1.146493 11.4432 22.0064
30 0.806452 13.14617 22.91858
For stand off Distance = 10 m
14 Reflected overpressure Vs td
12.13074
12
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2)

10

0
0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For stand off Distance = 15 m
Reflected overpressure Vs td
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2) 8
7.473143
7

1
0
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For stand off Distance = 20 m
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2) 12

9.611829
10

0
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For stand off Distance = 25 m
14 Reflected overpressure Vs td
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2)
11.4432
12

10

2
0
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
For stand off Distance = 30 m
Reflected overpressure Vs td
Reflected overpressure (kg/cm2) 14
13.14617
12

10

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Equivalent Pulse time (mili sec)
Distanc Pro Distance from ground zero vs Peak reflected overpressure plot (for
e from (kg/cm2)
14 0.1tonne detonation amount)

Peak reflected pressure (kg/cm2)

ground
12
Zero (m)
10 12.13074 y = 3013.5x-2.458
10 R² = 0.9874
11 8.927811
12 6.830638 8
13 5.269227
14 4.159479 6

15 3.62087
16 3.106777 4

17 2.652022
20 1.857502 2

30 0.806452
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Distance from ground zero (m)

Scope of the Work :
• The main objective of the present study is to design a G+6
storey RCC building considering blast load, earth quake
load, wind load.

• It is required to compare the design of the same building

without blast load and including the blast load.

• Ductile detailing of the structural members need to be

done.
 References:
• Remennikov, A
“A Review of Methods for Predicting Bomb Blast Effects on Buildings”
University of Wollongong (2003), alexrem@uow.edu.au

• Activity A5 - Blast Simulation Technology Development

“Calculation of Blast Loads for Application to Structural Components”
Administrative Arrangement No JRC 32253-2011 with DG-HOME (2013)

• Ngo, T., Mendis, P., Gupta, A. & Ramsay, J.

“Blast Loading and Blast Effects on Structures – An Overview”
The University of Melbourne, Australia (2007)

• IS 4991 ‘‘CRITERIA FOR BLAST RESISTANT DESIGN OF

STRUCTURES FOR EXPLOSIONS ABOVE GROUND” (1968)
• Draganić, H., Sigmund V.
“BLAST LOADING ON STRUCTURES” (2003)

• NBM Media article on “Blast Loading and Its Effects on Structures”