Design and Analysis of Blast Loaded Windows

The increasing number of terrorist attacks brings the need to research on the blast resistance of buildings and transportation systems. Most of these attacks are lastly concentrated on the so called “soft targets” as railways stations, airports, bus stations, shopping centers, etc. In them, high vulnerability is frequently given by fenestrations or novel glass façade systems in general. In this regard, the paper is focused on the analysis of the dynamic behavior of blast loaded glazing windows. Given a reference specimen geometry and wood or plastic frame representative of traditional or new fenestrations respectively, the blast performance of such system is assessed via analytical SDOF calculations. Refined Finite Element (FE) numerical simulations are then presented and discussed, as a preliminary outcome of further exploratory investigations. Following the actual research study, experimental tests will be in fact carried out on the same fenestration systems.