Civil Engineering Association

ARCHITECTURAL AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR BLAST RESISTANT BUILDINGS

The increase in the number of terrorist attacks especially in the last few years has shown that the effect of blast loads on buildings is a serious matter that should be taken into consideration in the design process. Although these kinds of attacks are exceptional cases, man-made disasters; blast loads are in fact dynamic loads that need to be carefully calculated just like earthquake and wind loads.
The objective of this study is to shed light on blast resistant building design theories, the enhancement of building security against the effects of explosives in both architectural and structural design process and the design techniques that should be carried out. Firstly, explosives and explosion types have been explained briefly. In addition, the general aspects of explosion process have been presented to clarify the effects of explosives on buildings. To have a better understanding of explosives and characteristics of explosions will enable us to make blast resistant building design much more efficiently. Essential techniques for increasing the capacity of a building to provide protection against explosive effects is discussed both with an architectural and structural approach.