Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Shock Wave Attenuation Effects Using Protective Barriers Made of Steel Posts
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 11
Abstract
The use of protective barriers is one of the most common approaches to protect buildings and their occupants against blast and vehicle impacts. They increase the stand-off distance between the explosive source and the building. However, the protection capabilities of barriers with openings have not yet been thoroughly studied. The present paper discusses the shock wave attenuation effect of protective barriers made of steel posts with a hollow cross section. In the experiments, the steel posts are located at a distance of 5 m to the building to be protected. Prior to the experiments, numerical models were developed to predict the blast loads numerically. Overpressure-time history measurements (side-on and reflected) were made at various distances in front of and behind the barrier. The experimental data were used to, for example, validate the numerical models. The experimental and numerical results showed that barriers can reduce the blast loads relative to the scenario in which no barriers were present. Considerable reductions in peak side-on and reflected overpressure and impulse were observed behind the barriers. Furthermore, after validation, parametric studies are carried out to investigate the influence of further parameters on the overpressure reduction behind the barriers, that is, the number of posts or the spacing between posts, the cross-sectional shapes of posts, and the arrangement of posts (single-layer or multilayer, aligned or staggered). These studies showed that a barrier without openings is not always necessary to offer the desired protection because barriers with openings can also show satisfactory results. Hence, the necessary amount of material (steel in this case) and, thus, the construction cost can be considerably reduced.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, Department II.5 - Structural Protection, Emergency Preparedness (Water) in Germany for their financial support to carry out this research work. The authors would also like to thank the Bundeswehr Technical Center for Protective and Special Technologies (WTD52) in Germany for conducting the experiments.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 11 • November 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 16, 2017
Accepted: May 7, 2018
Published online: Aug 30, 2018
Published in print: Nov 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jan 30, 2019
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