Mesh, gravity and load effects on finite element simulations of blast loaded reinforced concrete structures

• Published in: Computers & structures Vol. 63; no. 6; pp. 1113 - 1120
• Main Authors: Krauthammer, T., Otani, R.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.1997
• ISSN: 0045-7949; 1879-2243
• DOI: 10.1016/S0045-7949(96)00406-3

The behavior and design of reinforced concrete blast resistant structures are supported by intensive numerical simulations, and the effects of various parameters on the results is of great interest. Finite element simulations were performed in the nonlinear dynamic domain with modified concrete and steel constitutive models. Ten different cases were implemented, each with different reinforcement details. In addition, each case included both a coarse mesh and a fine mesh to determine the effects of mesh resolution on the numerical simulations. Gravity and loading conditions were altered to investigate their influences on the results. Deformations and stress distributions in both the concrete and steel were examined to determine the composite structural behavior and the extent of predicted damage for the various cases. The observations from these analyses highlighted relationships between the simulation parameters and the corresponding outcome. Conclusions and recommendations are presented that could assist in the development of efficient numerical simulations in this general area.