Near-Field Explosion Effects on the Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Columns: A Numerical Investigation

Recent terrorist attacks and accidental explosions have increased the need to study the behaviour of structures subjected to blast loadings. Most research work investigating the behaviour of reinforced concrete columns to blast loading have concentrated on their response from far-field explosions. Limited amount of work is available on the effects of near-field explosion on behaviour of reinforced concrete columns. This thesis presents a parametric numerical study to investigate the effects of near-field explosions on the response behaviour of reinforced concrete columns. The study included effects on scaled distances and tie spacing on behaviour of columns. The numerical analysis showed that for increasing charge masses, the natural period of vibration of reinforced concrete columns increased. Also the effects of tie spacing were markedly noticeable at lower scaled distances. Peak column deflections at higher scaled distances occurred mid-height while peak column deflections at lower scaled distances occurred closer to the column supports.