Experimental study of confined masonry walls under blast loading

Abstract

Terrorist organizations around the world have used explosives on many occasions to carry out attacks in urban centers. The victims and injuries in these attacks are often due to structural collapses and the impact of debris. This threat leads researchers to study the performance of ordinary building systems exposed to extreme impulsive loads. Confined masonry buildings are a widely used construction system in seismic zones in many parts of the world and have been widely studied under seismic loads. On the other hand, studies of the response to out-of-plane impulsive loads, such as those caused by intentional or accidental explosions, are scarce. In this paper, results of three experimental explosions at different scaled distances are presented. The explosives on and 1 m above the ground were used. Confined masonry walls with and without openings were tested. The complex interaction between air blast and ground shock was analyzed. Levels of damage obtained with different scaled distances are presented. The results are compared with iso-damage curves.