Near-field blast assessment of reinforced concrete components

Close-in detonations can damage or destroy components of buildings. The damage to reinforced concrete components is often simulated using finite element codes with considerations of material erosion that are based on either a damage algorithm or a user-specified criterion, and both are explored in the paper. Single element simulations of concrete are performed to establish reliable values of concrete erosion strain as a function of strain rate, compressive strength, element size and loading condition. Numerical analyses of a reinforced concrete column subjected to blast loadings are performed using alternate representations of erosion to characterize the influence of concrete compressive strength, transverse reinforcement, and applied axial load, on predictions of damage.