Survey of Window Retrofit Solutions for Blast Mitigation
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 18, Issue 2
Abstract
Explosive attacks on buildings create a rapid release of energy in the form of a shock wave. Window glass is often the weakest part of a building, breaking at low pressures compared to other building components. Explosion-related injuries caused by glass breakage include eardrum damage, lung collapse, and penetration- or laceration-type injuries from airborne glass fragments which may lead to fatalities. As glass breakage may extend for miles for a large external explosion, reducing glass hazard is an important aspect of blast-mitigation for buildings. Blast-mitigating window products are in their infancy in the United States. Categories of available window retrofit solutions include: window film technologies, mullion and frame upgrades, catch systems, window replacement systems, installation of secondary windows, and/or a combination of these technologies. Installation of daylight film is the least costly but provides the lowest level of protection, while replacing windows is the most costly with the greatest gain in blast protection. Selection of the best window retrofit solution is usually based on a number of design constraints including blast criteria, building constraints—which can be broken down into type of building, maintenance and operability requirements, interior finishes, energy conservation requirements, lifecycle—and finally the retrofit cost.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Applied Research Associates for the GSA. (2002). Window glazing analysis response and design (WINGARD) manual; v.3.1.5, Vicksburg, Miss.
Biggs, J. M. (1964). Introduction to structural dynamics, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Department of the Army. (1990). “Structures to resist the effects of accidental explosions.” Army TM5-1300, Navy NAVFAC P-397, AFR 88-2. Washington, D.C., Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (1999). “Window retrofit using fragment retention film with catcher bar system.” Technical Letter No. 1110-3-5-1, Washington, DC.
GlassLock. (2000). “Glass & glazing.” GlassLock website, 〈http://www.glasslock.com/glasstypes.htm〉
Hinman, E. E., Durkin, M. E., and Osteraas, J. D. (1996). “Preliminary analysis of casualties resulting from the Oklahoma City bombing.” Rep. No. FaAA-SF-R-96-12-20, Project No. SF23049, prepared for: The Blast Injuries Study Group, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma City, Okla, prepared by: Failure Analysis Associates, Inc., Menlo Park, Calif.
Hyde, D. W. (1988). “Fundamentals of protective design for conventional weapons.” User’s guide for microcomputer programs CONWEP and FUNPRO, applications of TM5-855-1, Structures Laboratory, Department of the Army, Waterways Experiment Station, Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Miss.
Interagency Security Committee. (2001). ISC security criteria for new federal office buildings and major modernization projects.
Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center. (1995). Safety viewport analysis code user documentation (SAFEVUE), version 2.0, Port Hueneme, Calif.
Norville, H. S., Harvill, N., Conrath, E. J., Shariat, S., and Mallonee, S.(1999). “Glass-related injuries in Oklahoma City bombing.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil., 13(2), 50–56.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (1999). Window design and analysis software (WinDAS) manual; v.2.0, Omaha, Neb.
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. (2000). HAZL v.1.0, manual, Vicksburg, Miss.
U.S. Department of Defense. (1997). “Military handbook, evaluation and selection analysis of security glazing for protection against ballistic, bomb, and forced entry tactics.” MIL-HDBK-1013-1, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Defense. (2002). Unified facilities criteria (UFC): DoD minimum antiterrorism standards for buildings, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of State. (1990). WINdow Lite analysis code (WINLAC), user documentation, Office of Foreign Buildings Operations, Sverdup-Embassy Task Group, Washington, DC.
U.S. Department of State. (1999). Architectural and engineering design guidelines for U.S. diplomatic mission buildings, Office of Foreign Building Operations, Washington, DC.
U.S. Department of State. (2001). “Sunshade fabric fragment retention retrofit for blast mitigation.” Technical Information Bulletin No. 01.03, Bureau of Diplomatic Security.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 18 • Issue 2 • May 2004
Pages: 86 - 94
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 23, 2002
Accepted: Feb 21, 2003
Published online: Apr 15, 2004
Published in print: May 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.