Performance of Earthquake-resistant RCC Frame Structures under Blast Explosions

Over the years, due to rapid development and urbanization, coupled with relatively high average household income, cities like Abu Dhabi have transformed to a larger and advanced metropolis. Most of the medium to high-rise structures in these cities in the middle-east are designed to be earthquake resistant. Due to increase in accidental and intentional explosions, high-rise buildings can be exposed to those types of blast pressures. It is a real matter of concern for the designers to know how these earthquake resistant structures would perform when exposed to accidental blast loads. This research is aimed at exploring the structural behavior and performance of earthquake resistant reinforced concrete (RCC) frame structures under blast loading. For this study, typical reinforced concrete frame structures designed to be earthquake resistant according to International Building Code (IBC 2009) and ACI 318-11 provisions applicable for Abu Dhabi city were studied. Vulnerability of these structures were investigated under different realistic blast scenarios obtained by varying scaled distances and explosion charge-weights to study the structural response. Relative performance of RCC structures designed with and without consideration of earthquake load in load combinations is also presented. A major focus of this research was to establish specific distances beyond which a given blast would have minimal impact on a typical earthquake resistant concrete structure which can assist designers in choosing a safe standoff distance for a given load. Investigations on variation in performance by changing material properties and structural configurations were also included in this study.