Structural response of steel-concrete composite panels to near field simultaneous blast and fragmentation loading

Abstract

Steel-concrete composite sandwich panels are used in blast doors or blast walls to protect personnel and equipment in explosive environments due to their superior performance against blast effects. In the design of such panels, most design methods treat blast and fragment loading independently for far-field explosions. However, the synergistic effects of combined blast and fragments loading should be accounted for in close-in explosion scenarios. In this study, a field test program was conducted to assess the damage of the steel-concrete composite panels subjected to close-in explosion of cased charges at various scaled distance between 0.39 and 0.78 m/kg^1/3. Characterization test of cased charge detonation was performed to explore the combined loading effect. The analysis includes the pressure-time history from the cased charge detonation, distribution of the fragment masses and velocities over the test panels. The structural damage and response of the composite panels against the combined loading effects was measured. The results indicated that in addition to the damage from the blast wave, the panel was remarkably damaged by the fragment impact. Despite the significant structural damage, the panels maintained its structural integrity after the tests. Additionally, quasi-static load tests were conducted on the panels to quantify their load resistant differences in pristine condition and various damaged conditions due to the explosive effects.