Blast Mitigation

Blast Mitigation: Experimental and Numerical Studies covers both experimental and numerical aspects of material and structural response to dynamic blast loads and its mitigation. The authors present the most up-to-date understanding from laboratory studies and computational analysis for researchers working in the field of blast loadings and their effect on material and structural failure, develop designs for lighter and highly efficient structural members for blast energy absorption, discuss vulnerability of underground structures, present methods for dampening blast overpressures, discuss structural post blast collapse and give attention to underwater explosion and implosion effects on submerged infrastructure and mitigation measures for this environment.

The Blast Mitigation for Structures Program (BMSP) is a research and development activity conducted by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to improve the performance of buildings that are targets of terrorist attack. The primary goal of the BMSP is to reduce loss of life and injuries to the occupants of these buildings through the development of innovative techniques for new structures and retrofitting existing facilities. The committee's findings and recommendations are contained in this initial assessment report.

This book primarily focuses on methodologies to enable marine structures to resist high velocity impact loadings. It is based on invited talks presented at the recent India–USA workshop on “Recent Advances in Blast Mitigation Strategies in Civil and Marine Composite Structures” The book comprises content from top researchers from India and the USA and covers various aspects of the topic, including modeling and simulation, design aspects, experimentation and various challenges. These failure modes significantly reduce the structural integrity of the marine structures unless they are designed to resist such harsh loadings. Understanding the mechanics of these structures under harsh loadings is still an open area of research, and the behavior of these structures is not fully understood. The book highlights efforts to reduce the effects of blast loadings on marine composite structures. Intended for researchers/scientists and practicing engineers, the book focuses not only the design and analysis challenges of marine composite structures under such harsh loading conditions, but also provides new design guidelines.

With the upsurge in terrorism in recent years and the possibility of accidental blast threats, there is growing interest in manufacturing blast ‘hardened’ structures and retrofitting blast mitigation materials to existing structures. Composites provide the ideal material for blast protection as they can be engineered to give different levels of protection by varying the reinforcements and matrices. Part one discusses general technical issues with chapters on topics such as blast threats and types of blast damage, processing polymer matrix composites for blast protection, standards and specifications for composite blast protection materials, high energy absorbing composite materials for blast resistant design, modelling the blast response of hybrid laminated composite plates and the response of composite panels to blast wave pressure loadings. Part two reviews applications including ceramic matrix composites for ballistic protection of vehicles and personnel, using composites to protect military vehicles from mine blasts, blast protection of buildings using FRP matrix composites, using composites in blast resistant walls for offshore, naval and defence related structures, using composites to improve the blast resistance of columns in buildings, retrofitting using fibre reinforced polymer composites for blast protection of buildings and retrofitting to improve the blast response of concrete masonry walls. With its distinguished editor and team of expert contributors, Blast protection of civil infrastructures and vehicles using composites is a standard reference for all those concerned with protecting structures from the effects of blasts in both the civil and military sectors. Reviews the role of composites in blast protection with an examination of technical issues, applications of composites and ceramic matrix composites Presents numerical examples of simplified blast load computation and an overview of the basics of high explosives includes important properties and physical forms Varying applications of composites for protection are explored including military and non-military vehicles and increased resistance in building columns and masonry walls

Explosion Blast Response of Composites contains key information on the effects of explosions, shock waves, and detonation products (e.g. fragments, shrapnel) on the deformation and damage to composites. The book considers the blast response of laminates and sandwich composites, along with blast mitigation of composites (including coating systems and energy absorbing materials). Broken down under the following key themes: Introduction to explosive blast response of composites, Air explosion blast response of composites, Underwater explosion blast response of composites, and High strain rate and dynamic properties of composites, the book deals with an important and contemporary topic due to the extensive use of composites in applications where explosive blasts are an ever-present threat, such as military aircraft, armoured vehicles, naval ships and submarines, body armour, and other defense applications. In addition, the growing use of IEDs and other types of bombs used by terrorists to attack civilian and military targets highlights the need for this book. Many terrorist attacks occur in subways, trains, buses, aircraft, buildings, and other civil infrastructure made of composite materials. Designers, engineers and terrorist experts need the essential information to protect civilians, military personnel, and assets from explosive blasts. Focuses on key aspects, including both modeling, analysis, and experimental work Written by leading international experts from academia, defense agencies, and other organizations Timely book due to the extensive use of composites in areas where explosive blasts are an ever-present threat in military applications

Includes papers that were first presented at a September 2011 conference organized by the National Defense Industrial Association and the International Ballistics Society. This title includes a CD-ROM that displays figures and illustrations in articles in full color along with a title screen and main menu screen.

This book explains and presents the need for Multihazard Consideration (MH) in the management of civil infrastructure, what constitutes MH, and how to address MH in design and analysis. A generalized theory of MH will serve as the basis of the objective treatment of this volume. Use of MH in bridge management (inspection, maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement) will serve as the basis for several examples, and numerous case studies will be presented throughout.

Damage to critical energy infrastructure as a result of terrorism, criminal activity or natural disaster can have a significant impact at both a national and international level. Reducing the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to protect populations is therefore a high priority for governments worldwide, and high-quality training courses and advanced technologies are imperative in this regard. This book presents edited contributions from the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) entitled ‘Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection: Innovative Structures and Materials for Blast and Ballistic Protection’, held as a virtual event from 22 - 25 March 2021. The principal aim of the course was to gather specialists from NATO member and partner countries interested in protecting their critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks, and to share research and practical experience in this field. The meeting provided a forum for participants and speakers to disseminate their recent work, and also served to promote the exchange of ideas and international cooperation among scientists and engineers. The focus was on the physical protection of critical infrastructure in the face of certain types of intentional threat or accident, such as explosions, impacts and blast waves, and the experts shared their experience on topics including the mitigation of risks, classification of vulnerabilities, improvement of resilience, advanced protective materials, dynamic testing of materials and structures, simulations, and numerical prediction methods. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves protecting critical infrastructure from the threat of terrorist attacks.