Quantitative Resistance Assessment of Steel Girder Bridges Subjected to Blast Loads
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 9
Abstract
The blast resistance of a typical two-lane steel girder highway bridge structural system was modeled using a nonlinear finite-element approach that considered material damage, fracture, and separation. Critical blast scenarios were based on field observations of terrorist attacks on bridges in Iraq, while system failure was defined in terms of practical emergency serviceability criteria used on actual blast-damaged bridges. The blast resistance of various design parameters was assessed, including the number of girders, deck concrete strength, reinforcement ratio, slab thickness, girder and reinforcement yield strength, girder sectional dimensions, and pier column width. The presented approach uniquely quantifies structural system blast resistance in terms of the charge weight that can be applied at different locations until failure. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the most influential design parameters. It was found that system blast capacity was primarily influenced by the number of girders and girder yield strength, while additional significant parameters were deck compressive strength, deck thickness, web stiffener width, and girder depth. Secondary parameters were deck reinforcement ratio, girder flange, and web thickness, while deck reinforcement yield stress was found to be insignificant. Based on the results, recommendations for improving blast resistance are provided.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. This information includes the FEA output results and in situ bridge investigation data.
References
AASHTO. 2002. Standard specifications for highway bridges. 17th ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
AASHTO. 2020. LRFD bridge design specifications. 9th ed. Washington, DC: AASHTO.
ACI (American Concrete Institute). 2019. Building code requirements for structural concrete and commentary. ACI 318-19. Farmington Hills, MI: ACI.
Al-ain Laboratory for Engineering Tests. 2020a. 280 KM Station Bridge Expressway No. 1 assessment report. Al-Anbar: Al-Anbar governorate/Iraq.
Al-ain Laboratory for Engineering Tests. 2020b. S280 KM Station Bridge Expressway No. 1 R11 assessment report. Al-Anbar: Al-Anbar governorate/Iraq.
Al-ain Laboratory for Engineering Tests. 2021. Overpass bridge at Station KM 27+000 Expressway No. 1 – R9A assessment report. Al-Anbar: Al-Anbar governorate/Iraq.
Alsendi, A., and C. Eamon. 2020. “Quantitative resistance assessment of SFRP-strengthened RC bridge columns subjected to blast loads.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 34 (4), 04020055. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0001458.
Andreou, M., A. Kotsoglou, and S. Pantazopoulou. 2016. “Modelling blast effects on a reinforced concrete bridge.” Adv. Civ. Eng. 2016: 4167329. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/4167329.
Army Technical Manual. 1990. ARMY TM 5-1300, NAVY NAVFAC P-397, AIR FORCE AFR 88-22. Structures to resist the effects of accidental explosions. Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.
Bai, Y., and W. Jin. 2016. Marine structural design. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Buchan, P. A., and J. F. Chen. 2010. “Blast protection of buildings using fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites.” In Blast protection of civil infrastructures and vehicles using composites. Woodhead Publishing Series in Civil and Structural Engineering, edited by N. Uddin, 269–297. Sawston, UK: Woodhead Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845698034.2.269.
Chang, K. C., B. S. Wu, and K. Y. Liu. 2004. Studies on the steel-reinforced elastomeric bearing from friction coefficient test and SDOF pseudo-dynamic test––A preliminary research of the bridge with functional bearing system. Rep. No: NCREE-04-027. Taipei, Taiwan: National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering.
Cofer, W., D. S. Matthews, and D. I. McLean. 2010. “Effects of blast loading on prestressed girder bridges.” Shock Vib. 19 (1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/186272.
Dang, H. 2014. “Methods for removing concrete decks from steel girder bridges.” M.S. thesis, Iowa State Univ. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/13983
Dar, R. U. N., and M. Alam. 2021. “Damage evaluation of reinforced concrete bridge subjected to blast loading.” Recent Advances in Structural Engineering, 131–142. Singapore: Springer.
Eamon, C., I. Darwish, and A. Alsendi. 2018. Development of secondary route bridge design plan guides. Rep. No. SPR-1669. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Transportation.
FEMA. 2012. Primer to design safe school projects in case of terrorist attacks and school shootings. FEMA-428/BIPS–07/January 2012. 2nd ed. Buildings and Infrastructure Protection Series. Washington, DC: Department of Homeland Security.
Foglar, M., and M. Kovar. 2013. “Conclusions from experimental testing of blast resistance of FRC and RC bridge decks.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 59: 18–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2013.03.008.
Fujikura, S., and M. Bruneau. 2008. Experimental and analytical investigation of blast performance of seismically resistant bridge piers. Technical Rep. No. MCEER-08-0028. Buffalo: University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
Fujikura, S., and M. Bruneau. 2011. “Experimental investigation of seismically resistant bridge piers under blast loading.” J. Bridge Eng. 16 (1): 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000124.
Holmquist, T., G. Johnson, and W. Cook. 1993. “A computational constitutive model for concrete subjected to large strains, high strain rates, and high pressures.” In Vol. 2 of Proc., 14th Int. Symp., Warhead Mechanisms, Terminal Ballistics Conf., 1993, Quebec, Canada, 591–600. Arlington: American Defense Preparedness Association.
Hyde, D. 1988. User’s guide for microcomputer programs CONWEP and FUNPRO, applications of TM 5-855-1, Fundamentals of protective design for conventional weapons. Final rep. SL-88-1. Washington, DC: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). 2003. Safety aspects of nuclear power plants in human induced external events: Assessment of structures. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. NS-G-1.5. Vienna, Austria: IAEA.
Islam, A. A. K. M., and N. Yazdani. 2008. “Performance of AASHTO girder bridges under blast loading.” Eng. Struct. 30 (7): 1922–1937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2007.12.014.
Kingery, C., and G. Bulmash. 1984. Air-blast parameters from TNT spherical air burst and hemispherical surface burst. Rep. No. ARBRL-TR- 02555. Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD: Ballistic Research Laboratories.
Lawver, D., R. Daddazio, G. J. Oh, C. K. B. Lee, A. B. Pifko, and M. Stanley. 2003. “Simulating the response of composite reinforced floor slabs subjected to blast loading.” In Proc. ASME Int. Mechanical Engineering Congress. Washington, DC: Applied Mechanics Division.
Livermore Software Technology Corporation. 2023. LS-DYNA keyword user’s manual, version 971. Livermore, CA: Livermore Software Technology Corporation.
Ma, L. L., H. Wu, and Q. Fang. 2021. “Damage mode and dynamic response of RC girder bridge under explosions.” Eng. Struct. 243: 112676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2021.112676.
Nassr, A., A. Razaqpur, M. Tait, M. Campidell, and S. Foo. 2012. “Experimental performance of steel beams under blast loading.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 26 (5): 600–619. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000289.
RBD (Road and Bridge Directorate). 2013. Khaldia Bridge report Anbar-23. Al-Anbar: Baghdad/Iraq.
RBD (Road and Bridge Directorate). 2019. Anaz Bridge report Anbar-735. Al-Anbar: Baghdad/Iraq.
Seible, F., G. Hegemier, V. M. Karbhari, J. Wolfson, K. Arnett, R. Conway, and J. Baum. 2006. “Protection of our bridge infrastructure against man-made and natural hazards.” Struct. Infrastruct. Eng. 4 (6): 415–429. https://doi.org/10.1080/15732470601130311.
Song, G., W. Xu, X. Lei, and G. Cao. 2021. “Influence analysis and safety assessment of vehicle bomb type on the dynamic response of curved bridge under bridge deck blast load (II): Safety assessment.” In 7th Int. Conf. on Hydraulic and Civil Engineering & Smart Water Conservancy and Intelligent Disaster Reduction Forum (ICHCE & SWIDR), 1008–1012. Nanjing, China: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
UFC (Unified Facilities Criteria). 2014. Structures to resist the effects of accidental explosions, with change 2. UFC 3-340-02. Virginia: Department of Defense, UFC.
Valente, I. B., and P. J. S. Cruz. 2009. “Experimental analysis of shear connection between steel and lightweight concrete.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 65 (10–11): 1954–1963. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2009.06.001.
Wang, W., R. Liu, and B. Wu. 2014. “Analysis of a bridge collapsed by an accidental blast loads.” Eng. Fail. Anal. 36: 353–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2013.10.022.
Williams, G. 2009. “Analysis and response mechanisms of blast loaded reinforced concrete columns.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Texas at Austin.
Williamson, E. B., O. Bayrak, C. Davis, and G. D. Williams. 2011. “Performance of bridge columns subjected to blast loads. I: Experimental program.” J. Bridge Eng. 16 (6): 693–702. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000220.
Williamson, E. B.,O. Bayrak, G. D. Williams, C. E. Davis, K. A. Marchand, A. E. K. McKay, and J. M. W. Wagdy 2010. Blast-resistant highway bridges: Design and detailing guidelines. NCHRP Rep. No. 645. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board.
Wolert, P. J., and A. S. Nowak. 2021. “Yield strength of structural steel.” In Modern trends in research on steel, aluminium and composite structures, edited by M. Giżejowski, A. Kozłowski, M. Chybiński, K. Rzeszut, R. Studziński, and M. Szumigała, 521–526. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003132134-68.
Wu, K.-C., B. Li, and K.-C. Tsai. 2011. “The effects of explosive mass ratio on residual compressive capacity of contact blast damaged composite columns.” J. Constr. Steel Res. 67 (4): 602–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2010.12.001.
Yang, S., Z. Liu, S. Wang, W. Zhong, R. Zhang, and X. Yao. 2023. “Dynamic response and failure analysis for urban bridges under far-field blast loads.” Eng. Struct. 285: 116043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.116043.
Yi, Z., A. K. Agrawal, M. Ettouney, and S. Alampalli. 2014. “Blast load effects on highway bridges. I: Modeling and blast load effects.” J. Bridge Eng. 19 (4): 04013023. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000547.
Yuan, S.-J., Z.-H. Zong, F. Lou, and J. Lin. 2022. “Experimental study on damage of prestressed concrete continuous girder bridge subjected to explosions above the deck.” Zhongguo Gonglu Xuebao/China J. Highw. Transp. 35 (11): 160–170. https://doi.org/10.19721/j.cnki.1001-7372.2022.11.015.
Zhou, X. Q., V. A. Kuznetsov, H. Hao, and J. Waschl. 2008. “Numerical prediction of concrete slab response to blast loading.” Int. J. Impact Eng. 35 (10): 1186–1200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2008.01.004.
Zong, Z.-H., B. Tang, C. Gao, L. Liu, M.-H. Li, and S.-J. Yuan. 2017. “Experiment on blast-resistance performance of reinforced concrete piers.” Zhongguo Gonglu Xuebao/China J. Highw. Transp. 30 (9): 51–60.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 9 • September 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 14, 2023
Accepted: May 9, 2024
Published online: Jul 12, 2024
Published in print: Sep 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Dec 12, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Blasting effects
- Bridge engineering
- Bridges
- Bridges (by material)
- Bridges (by type)
- Continuum mechanics
- Decks
- Design (by type)
- Dynamics (solid mechanics)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Girder bridges
- Girders
- Load and resistance factor design
- Load factors
- Solid mechanics
- Steel bridges
- Structural design
- Structural dynamics
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Wood bridges
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.