Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Protecting Buildings From Bomb Damage

Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications

Committee on Feasibility of Applying Blast-Mitigating
Technologies and Design Methodologies
from Military Facilities to Civilian Buildings

Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems
National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1995

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page ii

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964. under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Harold Liebowitz are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Funding for the project was provided through an agreement between the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Defense Nuclear Agency, Contract No. DNA001-92-C-0083.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 95-71478
International Standard Book Number: 0-309-05375-7

Additional copies of this report are available from: National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Box 285, Washington, D.C. 20055
800-624-6242 or 202-334-3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan area)

Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page iii

COMMITTEE ON FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING BLAST-MITIGATING TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN METHODOLOGIES FROM MILITARY FACILITIES TO CIVILIAN BUILDINGS

EUGENE SEVIN, Chair, Lyndhurst, Ohio

STUART L. KNOOP, Vice Chair, Oudens and Knoop, Architects, P.C., Chevy Chase, Maryland

TED BELYTSCHKO, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

GARY G. BRIGGS, Consolidated Engineering Services, Inc., Arlington, Virginia

WILLIAM J. HALL, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

BRUCE HOFFMAN, St. Andrews University, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland

THEODOR KRAUTHAMMER, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

WALTER P. MOORE Jr., Walter P. Moore & Associates, Inc., Houston, Texas

BARBARA A. MYERCHIN, Strategic Science & Technology Planners, Arlington, Virginia

LESLIE E. ROBERTSON, Leslie E. Robertson Associates, Consulting Structural Engineers, New York

Staff

RICHARD G. LITTLE, Study Director

DENNIS CHAMOT, Acting Study Director (until 1/31/95)

GEORGE LALOS, Project Officer

SUSAN K. COPPINGER, Administrative Assistant

AMELIA MATHIS, Project Assistant (until 12/24/94)

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page iv

BOARD ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENT

GEORGE BUGLIARELLO, Chair, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York

CATHERINE BROWN, Design Center for American Urban Landscape, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

NANCY RUTLEDGE CONNERY, Public Works Infrastructure, Woolwich, Maine

LLOYD A. DUSCHA, Reston, Virginia

ALBERT A. GRANT, Potomac, Maryland

SUSAN E. HANSON, School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts

E.R. (VALD) HEIBERG, III, Heiberg Associates, Inc., Mason Neck, Virginia

RONALD W. JENSEN, City of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona

JAMES K. MITCHELL, Charles E. Via Professor of Civil Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg

GARY T. MOORE, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

HAROLD J. PARMELEE, Turner Construction Company, New York

STANLEY W. SMITH, McLean, Virginia

RAYMOND L. STERLING, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

Staff

RICHARD G. LITTLE, Director

DENNIS CHAMOT, Acting Director (until 1/31/95)

HENRY BORGER, Executive Secretary, Federal Facilities Council (until 2/28/95)

LYNDA STANLEY, Director, Federal Facilities Council

GEORGE LALOS, Senior Program Officer

SUSAN K. COPPINGER, Administrative Assistant

LENA B. GRAYSON, Program Assistant

AMELIA MATHIS, Project Assistant (until 12/24/94)

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page v

Contents

Executive Summary

1

Introduction

4

Scope of the Study

5

Organization of the Report

6

Terrorism: Its Motives, Methods, and Immediate Results

7

Motives for Terrorist Attacks

8

Patterns of Terrorist Attacks

9

Bomb Damage to Buildings and Occupants

14

References

24

Review of Existing Knowledge for Blast-Effects Mitigation and Protective Design Technologies

26

Introduction

26

Experimental and Simple Analytical Approaches

31

Technical Design Manuals

32

Computational Techniques

35

Computer Programs for Blast and Shock Effects

39

Code Validation

41

Applications of Computational Methods to Terrorist Threats

43

Summary Observations

44

References

45

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page vi

Blast-Effects Mitigation Potential for Commercial Buildings

49

Assessing Threats to Civilian Buildings

49

Architectural Planning Process

50

Special Considerations for Hardening Existing Buildings

55

Vulnerabilities of Civilian Structures

58

Vulnerabilities of Nonstructural Building Systems

59

Below-Grade Vulnerabilities in Civilian Buildings

62

Protecting Nonstructural Systems

64

Stack Effect in High-Rise Buildings

65

Economic Considerations

66

Agents for Technology Transfer

68

References

70

Findings and Recommendations

71

Findings

71

Recommendations

75

Appendix A: Financial Performance of a Commercial Office Building

83

Appendix B: Computer Code Abstracts Provided by Code Developers

87

Appendix C: Committee Briefings

97

Appendix D: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

99

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page vii

List of Figures and Tables

Figures

 

2-1
The Jewish Community Center, Buenos Aires, showing vulnerability of brick masonry construction

16

2-2
St. Mary Axe, London, showing general damage to multistory office building of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development

17

2-3
St. Mary Axe, London, showing potentially lethal glass shards

18

2-4
Staples Corner, North London, showing damage to a single-story steel-framed warehouse

19

2-5
World Trade Center, New York, showing the aftermath of the explosion within the parking garage

20

2-6
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, showing catastrophic effects on the building's north face

22

2-7
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, showing detail of the reinforced concrete column and slab construction

22

3-1
Comparison of predicted and observed deformation of a buried structure in clay and sand backfills

43

Tables

 

2-1
Analysis of Bombing Incidents in the United States by Target, 1989–1993

11

3-1
Representative Computer Programs Used to Simulate Blast Effects and Structural Response

40

A-1
Conventional Building Income and Expense Analysis

84

A-2
Return on Investment Analysis

85

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

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Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page ix

Terms Used in This Report

Designing structures to withstand the effects of a deliberately placed explosive device can entail many types of protective measures. Some will increase the difficulty of placing a bomb close enough to a structure to damage it; others will physically strengthen all or parts of the structure while still others will aim to ensure the survival and rescue of the occupants in the event of a bomb explosion. Throughout this report, a number of terms are used to describe these measures. To facilitate the reader's understanding, an explanation of the most commonly used terms is provided below. Technical terms that are considered outside the normal usage of the lay reader are defined as they appear.

Blast-hardening of a structure refers to all measures that are taken, either in the design phase or in subsequent (retrofit) actions, to reduce or eliminate the effects of an explosion. This process is sometimes simply referred to as building "hardening." In the broad sense, it includes site selection and physical space planning (i.e., organization of spaces to minimize the effects of a blast on people and property).

Blast resistance is an effect of blast-hardening and refers to the ability of a structure to withstand an explosive event with minimum loss of life or property.

Blast-effects mitigation refers to the reduction in the severity of the effects of an explosion on a structure resulting from having taken specified blast-hardening measures.

Suggested Citation: "Front Matter." National Research Council. 1995. Protecting Buildings from Bomb Damage: Transfer of Blast-Effects Mitigation Technologies from Military to Civilian Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5021.

Page x

Protective design technologies refer collectively to the techniques and methodologies that have evolved for addressing blast-hardening of buildings and other structures. This body of knowledge is the product of experimental studies, theoretical analyses, and advanced numerical simulation approaches developed primarily by the military for predicting blast loads and the responses of structural systems.

Next Chapter: Executive Summary
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