Performance and Blast Design for Non-Load Bearing Precast Concrete Panels

This paper summarizes recent testing, analysis, and applications to blast design for non-load-bearing, reinforced concrete wall panels. This includes solid, precast, and insulated sandwich panels reinforced with conventional and pre-stressed reinforcement. The measured peak response of these types of reinforced concrete test panels in blast tests is compared to the response calculated with the single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) method commonly used for blast-resistant design. The observed damage in test panels is also used to develop response criteria which correlate the amount of peak panel response to the corresponding level of damage in the panel. The observed response of connections in precast test panels is also used to assess connection design for blast-resistant, precast panels. This paper recommends that cast-in-place and precast concrete, non-load-bearing panels, including solid concrete panels and insulated sandwich panels, can be designed to resist blast loads using the SDOF design methodology with new recommended response criteria.