Carbon Fiber Composite Jackets to Protect Reinforced Concrete Columns against Blast Damage

An elevated risk of deliberate attacks on high-profile and critical facilities underscores the need to protect buildings against blast damage. Under blast loading the structure may be vulnerable to progressive collapse, which begins when a load-bearing member suddenly loses its ability to carry the loads above it. Once this happens, the failure can propagate through much or all of the structure if there is insufficient redundancy and continuity. Preventing progressive collapse involves designing appropriate alternative load paths and hardening critical elements to withstand blast loading. The experimental and computational work herein addresses the latter strategy. The experimental portion shows the efficacy of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) wraps as an effective retrofit method and provides data for calibration of computational models. The computational portion assesses current modeling capabilities. Areas in need of improvement are identified.