Numerical Simulation and Verification of Curtain Wall Systems under Shock Pressure

Abstract

When properly designed, framed, and anchored, blast-resistant laminates for curtain walls can greatly reduce or eliminate the hazard and injury from flying glass, and are capable of maintaining the integrity of a building envelope and reducing interior damage in an explosion event. Existing blast-resistant glazing research and design practice ignores the negative phase of the shock wave, which can affect the response of a curtain wall system and anchorage. Therefore, dynamic modeling and high-explosive field testing of two full-scale curtain wall systems using a shock tube are presented in this paper. The LS-DYNA numerical simulations were verified using the blast testing of two curtain wall systems, an original design and a blast-retrofitted design. The response of the glazing system to the positive and negative phases was investigated. The modeled dynamic response correlated well with the measured response of the glass laminates and the mullion supporting the curtain wall units. This study can be used to improve existing methods and to provide affordable design recommendations for curtain walls under blast.

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Blasting; Computer Simulation; Design; Dynamic Response; Glass; Glazes; Numerical Models; Prestressed Materials; Production Platforms; Solar Buildings; Blast-Retrofit; Building Envelopes; Curtain Walls; Field Testing; Laminated Glass; Shock Loadings; Explosives

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1084-0680

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2014

Link to Full Text

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