Author(s)

LAURA MCFADZEAN, SIMON K. CLUBLEY

Abstract

Columns are an integral part of a steel framed structure, responsible for carrying load to the foundations. If the integrity of a column is compromised due to damage, such as from blast, incipient partial or total collapse of a structure can occur. The response of a column to blast can increase for a number of reasons e.g. the blast is long-duration in nature, where long-duration is defined as the positive duration in excess of 100ms, the blast arrives at an oblique angle of incidence or the column is also subject to a thermal load. While the effects of each have been considered separately, there is no research on the response to a combination. This paper reports on the effect of multi-axis long-duration thermal and blast loading on the response of a steel column. Numerical modelling was used to determine the blast load and the structural response of the column. The results show that column response to multi-axis and thermal loading individually increases due to a combination of projected area, weak axis and shielding effects and thermal softening respectively. Additionally, the response is increased further when multi-axis and thermal loading are considered together.

Keywords

long-duration blast loading, thermal loading, synergistic response, multi-axis response, steel column