Dynamic Response of Steel Columns Subjected to Blast Loading
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 7
Abstract
In this study, 13 typical wide-flange steel columns, each carrying an axial load equal to 25% of its axial capacity, are field tested using live explosives, involving charge size of 50 to 250 kg of ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO) and ground stand-off distance of 7.0 to 10.3 m. The reflected pressure time histories, time-dependent displacements, accelerations, and strains of the columns are measured, and their postblast damages and failure modes are reported. Maximum deformations, vibration periods, strain-rate, and contributing modes in the dynamic response of the columns are compared to those of companion steel beams (without axial load) tested in the same setup. Results show that columns that exhibit elastic response, due to the elongation of the column vibration period caused by the axial load, the lateral deformation caused by blast load is reduced rather than magnified by the axial load. The axial-bending interaction, or effect, may be neglected for steel columns with axial load up to 25% of their axial capacity, provided the column response remains within the elastic range—but if it crosses into the plastic range, the interaction cannot be ignored.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the following organizations for their support towards this study: the Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and Explosives Research and Technology Initiative (CRTI project 06-015TD), Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Centre for Effective Design of Structures (CEDS) at McMaster University, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for their financial support, the Canadian Explosives Research Laboratory (CERL) for assisting with the blast tests, and the Canadian Armed Forces for the use of their test range. CEDS received funding through the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund, a program of the Ministry of Research and Innovation of Ontario. The authors also appreciate the technical support of Messrs. Rick Guilbeault and Don Wilson of CERL during the experimental phase of this study.
References
ASCE. (1997). Design of blast resistant buildings in petrochemical facilities, Task Committee on Blast Resistant Design, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Baker, W. E., Cox, P. A., Westine, P. S., Kulesz, J. J., and Strehlow, R. A. (1983). Explosion hazards and evaluation, Elsevier, New York.
Bassim, M. N., and Panic, N. (1999). “High strain rate effects on the strain of alloy steels.” J. Mater. Process. Technol., 92–93, 481–485.
Bazant, Z. P., and Cedolin, L. (1991). Stability of structures: elastic, inelastic, fracture, and damage theories, Oxford University Press, New York.
Biggs, J. M. (1964). Introduction to structural dynamics, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Bischoff, P., and Perry, S. (1991). “Compressive behaviour of concrete at high strain rates.” Mater. Struct., 24(6), 425–450.
Boutros, M. K. (2000). “Elastic-plastic model of pinned beams subjected to impulsive loading.” J. Eng. Mech., 920–927.
Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC). (2006). Handbook of steel construction, Willowdale, Canada.
Dusenberry, D. O. (2010). Handbook for blast resistant design of buildings, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.
Jama, H. H., Bambach, M. R., Nurick, G. N., Grzebieta, R. H., and Zhao, X. L. (2009). “Numerical modelling of square tubular steel beams subjected to transverse blast loads.” Thin-Walled Struct., 47(12), 1523–1534.
Krafft, J. M., Sullivan, A. M., and Tipper, C. F. (1954). “The effect of static and dynamic loading and temperature on the yield stress of iron and mild steel in compression.” Proc. R. Soc. London. Ser. A, 221(1144), 114–127.
Krauthammer, T., Bazeos, N., and Holmquist, T. J. (1986). “Modified SDOF analysis of RC box-type structures.” J. Struct. Eng., 726–744.
Krauthammer, T., Shahriar, S., and Shanaa, H. M. (1990). “Response of reinforced concrete elements to severe impulsive loads.” J. Struct. Eng., 1061–1079.
Liew, J. Y. R. (2008). “Survivability of steel frame structures subject to blast and fire.” J. Constr. Steel Res., 64(7–8), 854–866.
Magallanes, J. M., Martinez, R., and Koening, J. (2006). “Experimental results of the AISC full-scale column blast test.”, American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago.
Magnusson, J. (2007). “Structural concrete elements subjected to air blast loading.” Ph.D. thesis, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
Malvar, L. J. (1998). “Review of static and dynamic properties of steel reinforcing bars.” ACI Mater. J., 95(5), 609–616.
Manjoine, M. J., and Pittsuburgh, E. (1944). “Influence of rate of strain and temperature on yield stresses of mild steel.” J. Appl. Mech., 11, 211–218.
Montalva, A., Loukaides, E., Long, M., and Gallant, S. (2007). “Analysis of steel columns for air-blast loads.” Proc., Int. Symp. on Interaction of the Effects of Munitions with Structures, Electronic Proc., (CD) Int. Symp. on the Interaction of the Effects of Munitions with Structures (ISIEMS) 12.1, Orlando, FL.
Nassr, A. A., Razaqpur, A. G., Tait, M. J., Campidelli, M., and Foo, S. (2012a). “Experimental performance of steel beams under blast loading.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil., 600–619.
Nassr, A. A., Razaqpur, A. G., Tait, M. J., Campidelli, M., and Foo, S. (2012b). “Single and multi degree of freedom analysis of steel beams under blast loading.” Nucl. Eng. Des., 242(1), 63–77.
Nassr, A. A., Razaqpur, A. G., Tait, M. J., Campidelli, M., and Foo, S. (2013). “Strength and stability of steel beam columns under blast load.” Int. J. Impact Eng., 55, 34–48.
Schleyer, G. K., and Hsu, S. S. (2000). “A modelling scheme for predicting the response of elastic-plastic structures to pulse pressure loading.” Int. J. Impact Eng., 24(8), 759–777.
Smith, P. D., and Hetherington, J. G. (1994). Blast and ballistic loading of structures, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston.
Soroushian, P., and Choi, K.-B. (1987). “Steel mechanical properties at different strain rates.” J. Struct. Eng., 663–672.
Timoshenko, S. (1961). Theory of elastic stability, McGraw-Hill, New York.
U.S. Department of Defense (USDOD). (2008). “Structures to resist the effects of accidental explosions.”, Washington, DC.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 7 • July 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 12, 2011
Accepted: Jul 31, 2013
Published online: Aug 3, 2013
Published in print: Jul 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 20, 2014
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.