Performance Evaluation of Two-Way RC Slab Subjected to Blast Loading Using Finite Element Analysis

Recently, blast and impact have gained more importance in research work owing to the fact that these high-intensity events can completely destroy any structure, causing tremendous casualties and property loss. Therefore, for any structure to withstand such extreme events, it is important to consider the effect of blast and impact loading in their design. Research works on response and damage analysis of reinforced concrete structural components such as slabs, columns, beams and walls subjected to blast and impact are limited in the literature and are essential for assessing its vulnerability. The current work investigates the performance of two-way reinforced concrete (RC) slabs subjected to blast loading. To simulate the field blast tests on different slabs, initially, a numerical model is established in a finite element preprocessor (HyperMesh). Later on, with the help of a commercial simulation software package (LS-DYNA), the numerical analysis is carried out. The developed numerical model is validated with the results of an experimental work done on an RC slab subjected to air blast from previous research. The results of the developed model are found in close agreement with actual experimental results. The numerical parameters of the validated model are used to develop a probabilistic model to investigate the blast response of the slab designed in current work. The probabilistic model developed in this research is able to capture the damage phenomena and also capable enough to reproduce the dynamic response.