A comparison of existing standards for testing blast resistant glazing and windows - ERNCIP thematic Group: Resistance of structures to explosion effects

It is important to protect critical buildings (shopping centres, government buildings and embassies), infrastructure and utilities, train and underground stations against being damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not generally take into account these threats. The introduction of appropriate regulations or guidelines, where deemed necessary, should, enhance the resilience of buildings and infrastructure against explosion incidents. In order to protect the built infrastructure, methods are required to quantify the resistance of structural components against explosive loading and to assess the hazards resulting from the failure of an element. The applicable state-of-the-art techniques may include either experimental or numerical methods, or a combination of both. Therefore, the thematic group (TG) on the resistance of structures to explosion effects was formed in order to bring the required expertise together, make it commonly available and to find and define harmonised methods and solutions which can be provided to the decision-makers responsible for critical infrastructure protection. This report discusses the differences between the existing standards for testing blast resistant glazing and windows and presents basic recommendations for the future development of the suite of European standards in this area.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Resistance of structures to explosion effects: Review report of testing methods ERNCIP thematic area Resistance of structures to explosion effects. Deliverable D1

It is important to protect critical buildings (shopping centres, government buildings and embassies), infrastructure and utilities, train and underground stations against being damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not generally take into account these threats. The introduction of regulations or guidelines should support the resilience of the buildings and infrastructure against explosive incidents. In order to protect the infrastructure, methods are required to quantify the resistance of structural elements against explosive loading and to assess the hazards resulting from failure of an element. The applicable state-of-the-art techniques may be either experimental or numerical methods, or a combination of both. Therefore, the thematic group (TG) on the resistance of structures to explosion effects was formed in order to bring the required expertise together, make it commonly available and to find and define harmonised methods and solutions which can be provided to the decision-makers responsible for critical infrastructure protection. This first report of the TG gives a comprehensive summary of the existing methods which can be used to analyse and test the resistance of glazing and windows under blast-loading conditions. Within this context, the experimental methods of testing using high explosives and testing using blast simulators called shock tubes is presented and explained. In addition, the potential of numerical simulations is highlighted in terms of their applicability to the different glass materials. A short, comprehensive theoretical background is given for each method. Based on this, each method is described with its requirements, realisation and the related measurement techniques. Furthermore, an interpretation of the measurements is highlighted. For the numerical simulations, the basic discretisation and calculations schemes are presented in combination with the available constitutive material descriptions for the different significant materials. Finally the chances for verification and validation of the numerical results are presented. Hence the report builds the basis for an actual evaluation of the different test methods and their applicability to certain problems, and provides helpful information for critical infrastructure stakeholders, owners and operators considering the structural resistance of the infrastructure to the effects of explosion in a comprehensive document.JRC.G.6-Security technology assessmen

Numerical simulations for classification of blast loaded laminated glass: possibilities, limitations and recommendations

It is important to protect critical buildings (shopping centres, government buildings and embassies), infrastructure and utilities, train and underground stations against being damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not generally take into account these threats. The introduction of appropriate regulations or guidelines, where deemed necessary, should, enhance the resilience of buildings and infrastructure against explosion incidents. In order to protect the built infrastructure, methods are required to quantify the resistance of structural components against explosive loading and to assess the hazards resulting from the failure of an element. The applicable state-of-the-art techniques may include either experimental or numerical methods, or a combination of both. Therefore, the thematic group (TG) on the resistance of structures to explosion effects was formed in order to bring the required expertise together, make it commonly available and to find and define harmonised methods and solutions which can be provided to the decision-makers responsible for critical infrastructure protection. The current report summarizes existing best practices for the numerical finite element modelling of blast loading, including the important topics of domain discretisation, implicit/explicit formulation, Lagrangian/Eulerian solvers, the mathematical description of the material behaviour etc. Furthermore recommendations for the modelling of laminated glass elements are formulated and knowledge gaps in this application area are pointed out. Hence the report builds the basis for an actual evaluation of the different numerical methods, their suitability to certain problems, and their capability to support/complement the experimental testing of glass components. It thus provides helpful information to design architects and engineers, and more generally to critical infrastructure stakeholders, responsible for the structural integrity and security of the infrastructure in case of an explosion

A comparison of existing standards for testing blast resistant glazing and windows

It is important to protect critical buildings (shopping centres, government buildings and embassies), infrastructure and utilities, train and underground stations against being damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not generally take into account these threats. The introduction of appropriate regulations or guidelines, where deemed necessary, should, enhance the resilience of buildings and infrastructure against explosion incidents. In order to protect the built infrastructure, methods are required to quantify the resistance of structural components against explosive loading and to assess the hazards resulting from the failure of an element. The applicable state of-the-art techniques may include either experimental or numerical methods, or a combination of both. Therefore, the thematic group (TG) on the resistance of structures to explosion effects was formed in order to bring the required expertise together, make it commonly available and to find and define harmonised methods and solutions which can be provided to the decision-makers responsible for critical infrastructure protection. This report discusses the differences between the existing standards for testing blast resistant glazing and windows and presents basic recommendations for the future development of the suite of European standards in this area

Recommendations for the improvement of existing European norms for testing the resistance of windows and glazed façades to explosive effects - ERNCIP Thematic group Resistance of structures to explosion effects

It is important to protect critical buildings (shopping centres, government buildings and embassies), infrastructure and utilities and train and underground stations from getting damaged, destroyed or disrupted by deliberate acts of terrorism, criminal activity and malicious behaviour. Normal regulations and building guidelines do not generally take these threats into account. The introduction of appropriate regulations or guidelines, where deemed necessary, should enhance the resilience of buildings and infrastructures against explosion incidents. In order to protect the infrastructure, testing methods which can answer the question as to whether certain building elements can withstand certain loading conditions created by an explosive event are required. The applicable state-of-the-art techniques may include either experimental or numerical methods, or a combination of both. Therefore, the thematic group (TG) on the resistance of structures to explosion effects was formed in order to bring the required expertise together, to make it commonly available and to find and define harmonised methods and solutions which can be provided to the decision-makers responsible for critical infrastructure protection. The TG described in a first report (JPC87202) the physical phenomena which have to be understood in order to ensure a proper testing of the elements and a correct interpretation of the results. In a second stage, the differences between the existing standards for testing blast-resistant glazing and windows have been derived, and a basis for fundamental recommendations for the future development of the suite of European standards has been addressed (JRC94930). Based on the prior findings, this report now formulates the proper enhancements of the existing standards in terms of actual recommendations for the improvement of the test standards.JRC.G.5-Security technology assessmen

Recommendations for a new generation of standards for testing numerical assessment of blast-loaded glass windows

The determination of the blast protection level of civil engineering buildings components against explosive effects represents a design topic of crucial importance, in current practice. However, some key aspects of blast resistant structures design have been only marginally considered in the last decade, and currently still require appropriate regulations. This is especially true in the case of glass windows and facades, where the intrinsic material brittleness is the major influencing parameter for blast-resistant assemblies. While blast assessment of buildings and systems is usually achieved by means of experimental investigations, as well as Finite-Element numerical simulations, general regulations and guidelines are currently missing. In this regard, the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection - Task Group (ERNCIP-TG) \u201cResistance of Structures to Explosion Effects\u201d attempts to develop guidelines and recommendations aimed to harmonise test procedures in experimental testing of glass windows under blast, as well as standardized approaches for their vulnerability assessment via Finite Element numerical modelling. In this paper, major ERNCIP-TG outcomes and next challenges are briefly summarized

Recommendations for a new generation of standards for testing numerical assessment of blast-loaded glass windows

The determination of the blast protection level of civil engineering buildings components against explosive effects represents a design topic of crucial importance, in current practice. However, some key aspects of blast resistant structures design have been only marginally considered in the last decade, and currently still require appropriate regulations. This is especially true in the case of glass windows and facades, where the intrinsic material brittleness is the major influencing parameter for blast-resistant assemblies. While blast assessment of buildings and systems is usually achieved by means of experimental investigations, as well as Finite-Element numerical simulations, general regulations and guidelines are currently missing. In this regard, the European Reference Network for Critical Infrastructure Protection - Task Group (ERNCIP-TG) “Resistance of Structures to Explosion Effects” attempts to develop guidelines and recommendations aimed to harmonise test procedures in experimental testing of glass windows under blast, as well as standardized approaches for their vulnerability assessment via Finite Element numerical modelling. In this paper, major ERNCIP-TG outcomes and next challenges are briefly summarized.JRC.E.4-Safety and Security of Building