Drift-controlled design of reinforced concrete frame structures under distant blast conditions—Part I: Theoretical basis

Proper control levels of lateral drifts anticipated for reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures within the predefined performance level become crucial when the frame structure is subjected to distant intense surface explosions. For this purpose, a new design method is presented in a two-part paper based on the transformation of a blast loading into an equivalent static force (ESF). The ESF is calculated in such a manner that the same maximum inter-storey drift ratio (MIDR) under the blast loading will be reproduced. The first part of the two-part paper focuses on the computational model of ESF for a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system and the design method based on ESF with the requirement for controlling its maximum displacement response to achieve the specified target displacement. Numerical examples have been included to illustrate the method while the verifications of the dynamic responses of the designed SDOF system are performed with nonlinear dynamic analyzes. The numerical results indicate that the target displacement is well met for the designed SDOF system in resisting a given blast loading. Extension of the computational model of ESF and the corresponding design method with ESF for a SDOF system into a RC frame structure will be further discussed in the companion paper.