How Should I Design My Blast Resistant Glazing Connections?

The use of blast resistant glazed facades in buildings are increasingly common. A variety of standards and reference guides exist that can be used for the design of these blast resistant glazing systems. These include documents produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC), US Army Corps of Engineers Protective Design Center (USACE PDC), General Services Administration (GSA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). While much attention in these guides is focused on static and dynamic design methods for glazing and mullions, comparatively little attention is devoted to determination of reactions on supporting elements and the design of connections and anchorages. Consequently, designers may find that guidance on reaction determination and connection safety factors or load and resistance factors is lacking. This paper will survey existing design methods to gain insight into industry standard practices for reaction calculation and safety factors. Comparisons will also be drawn to published test data to examine correlation and relationships with standard practices.