The engineering of buildings for blast loading is based on the complex interaction of assessing the likelihood of the risk together with an assessment of how the structure will behave at extreme loadings. These activities are often referred to as probabilistic analyses and parametric studies.
Blast loads originating from accidental ignition of gases, or detonation of explosives, are extreme cases. Designers must nevertheless take blast load into account and find a way to safeguard life and prevent a building’s collapse.
A blast load analysis sets out to identify the likely sources of blast, which areas need to be protected, and to what degree. Careful spatial planning and well designed site layout can separate likely blast sources from protected functions and spaces and therefore reduce blast loading.
HS&S utilises a number of supporting Buro Happold disciplines in order to enables us to assess the capacity and robustness of entire building systems, including the use of the complex computational fluid dynamics analysis tools to model blast forces, which assess how materials behave under extreme loading. These tools will ultimately help us decide on the optimum layout and security measures to reduce the blast risks to your building.
Our track record of explosives in structural engineering enables the design of appropriate measures to mitigate the blast effect.