Evaluation of blast effects on reinforced concrete buildings considering Operational Modal Analysis results

Seismic protection of buildings under risk can be achieved by increasing the knowledge about the behaviour of existing structures. Operational Modal Analysis is a powerful tool used for this purpose all over the world. It provides the dynamic characteristics of structures under operational conditions or some particular environmental issues such as blasts and earthquakes. The main objective of this study is to evaluate blast effects on a reinforced concrete (RC) building considering experimentally determined dynamic characteristics. The study consists of three phases: the measurement of vibration characteristics of blasting, the theoretical modal analysis of the inspected building, and experimental verification of dynamic characteristics using modal testing. The vibration characteristics of blasting are measured around the inspected building on hard soil using a geophone set. The initial analytical model of the building is constructed according to the in-situ investigation on building. The theoretical modal analysis results are verified by carrying out modal testing on the RC building. The Operational Modal Analysis method is used for the extraction of the dynamic characteristics of the building, and blast vibrations are taken into account as environmental vibrations. The effects of blasting on the reinforced concrete building are introduced by assessing the vibration of blasting with the dynamic characteristics of the building.