A study on the effects of an explosion in the Pantheon of Rome

The response of an emblematic monumental structure, the Pantheon in Rome, to an internal blast is addressed. The analysis is a coupled solid-fluid numerical simulation done using JWL equation for the simulation of the blast event and considering the pre-existent cracks in the dome as well as the material nonlinearities of low-tensile strength concrete aggregates. We identify two main phenomena; a focalization of shock waves inside dome-vaulted like structures due to their tendency to concentrate the blast energy and the role played by the pre-existent cracks in the evolution of the structural damage.