Use of probabilistic methods in evaluating blast performance of structures
Name
757545720-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
6.64 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
a0842beef26f8355257ae891b0ff6f65
Author(s)
Gillis, Andrew Nicholas
Advisor(s)
Jerome J. Connor.
Date Issued
2011
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The social and political climate of the modern world has lead to increased concern over the ability of engineered structures to resist blast events which may be incurred during terrorist attacks. While blast resistance design has been prominent for years in the industrial and military setting, it is starting to gain importance for structures which have been traditionally designed for aesthetics and which have high occupancy density. In these situations it is important that not only materials but the geometry of the building be optimized to reduce the effects of such an attack. However, designing a structure only for prescribed code requirements does not necessarily give a prediction of the post-blast behavior of the structure. Similar to the use of performance-based engineering for seismic events, the effects on a structure designed for blast loading should not be speculative but rather should exhibit expected behavior which is appropriate for the parameters of the given blast. Accounting for uncertainty of a potential blast event by assessing the structure in a probabilistic approach may lead to a more prudent and predictable assessment of damage and loss for the owner. The work herein attempts to provide an overview of the precedent of use of probabilistic methods in structural engineering, the current state of practice in blast engineering and set forth a framework and example by which probabilistic methods may be extended to blast considerations.
Description
Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-55).
Subjects
Civil and Environmental Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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