RMC-03-110 Innovative Blast Hardening Retrofit Techniques for Resisting the Effects of Vapor Cloud Explosions

Description:

$ccidental vapor cloud explosions can lead to catastrophic damage to masonry, reinforced concrete frame, and pre-engineered metal buildings within petroleum refineries, which can result in life threatening injuries and costly business interruption. The siting of buildings relative to explosion hazards and their capacity to withstand blast loads determine the level of damage from potential explosion sources. Many injuries and casualties from vapor cloud explosions occur to occupants of buildings that are badly damaged by blast loads. Buildings that cannot resist possible blast loads from vapor cloud explosions can be structurally upgraded to be blast resistant. This workshop will discuss some key issues concerning building siting and structural response to vapor cloud explosions. The focus will be on more recent innovative blast hardening techniques involving E-glass, Kevlar®, and elastomeric materials that have been validated through blast testing by BakerRisk and several US government agencies that are assessing similar innovative techniques to protect occupied buildings against terrorist explosion threats.