Skip to main content
Log in

Mitigation of blast effects on aluminum foam protected masonry walls

  • Published:
Transactions of Tianjin University Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Terrorist attacks using improvised explosive devices (IED) can result in unreinforced masonry (URM) wall collapse. Protecting URM wall from IED attack is very complicated. An effective solution to mitigate blast effects on URM wall is to retrofit URM walls with metallic foam sheets to absorb blast energy. However, mitigation of blast effects on metallic foam protected URM walls is currently in their infancy in the world. In this paper, numerical models are used to simulate the performance of aluminum foam protected URM walls subjected to blast loads. A distinctive model, in which mortar and brick units of masonry are discritized individually, is used to model the performance of masonry and the contact between the masonry and steel face-sheet of aluminum foam is modelled using the interface element model. The aluminum foam is modelled by a nonlinear elastoplastic material model. The material models for masonry, aluminum foam and interface are then coded into a finite element program LS-DYNA3D to perform the numerical calculations of response and damage of aluminum foam protected URM walls under airblast loads. Discussion is made on the effectiveness of the aluminum foam protected system for URM wall against blast loads.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Davidson J S, Fisher J W, Hammons M I et al. Failure mechanisms of polymer-reinforced concrete masonry walls subjected to blast [J]. Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 2005, 131(8):1194–1205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Buchan P A, Chen J F. Blast resistance of FRP composites and polymer strengthened concrete and masonry structures: A state-of-the-art review [J]. Composites Part B-Engineering, 2007, 38(5/6): 509–522.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Schenker A, Anteby I, Nizri B et al. Foam-protected reinforced concrete structures under impact: Experimental and numerical studies [J]. Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 2005, 131(8):1233–1242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Davidson J S, Porter J R, Dinan R J et al. Explosive testing of polymer retrofit masonry walls [J]. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, ASCE, 2004, 18(2):100–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Myers J J, Belarbi A. Blast resistance of FRP retrofitted un-reinforced masonry (URM) walls with and without arching action [J]. TMS Journal, 2004,22(1): 9–27.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Eamon C D, Baylot J T, O’Daniel J L. Modeling concrete masonry walls subjected to explosive loads [J]. Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 2004, 130(9): 1098–1106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Schenker A, Anteby I, Gal E et al. Full-scale field tests of concrete slabs subjected to blast loads [J]. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 2008,35(3): 184–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Department of Defence (DoD). Structures to Resist the Effect of Accidental Explosions. US Department of the Army, Navy and Air Force Technical Manual, TM-5-1300, Washington DC, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chengqing Wu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Su, Y., Wu, C. & Griffith, M. Mitigation of blast effects on aluminum foam protected masonry walls. Trans. Tianjin Univ. 14 (Suppl 1), 558–562 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-008-0096-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12209-008-0096-5

Keywords

Navigation