Mitigation of the blast risk associated with terrorist attacks and accidental explosions threatening critical infrastructure has become a topic of great interest in the civil engineering community, both in Canada and abroad. One method of mitigating blast risk is to retrofit vulnerable structures to resist the impulsive effects of blast loading. A comprehensive re-search program has been undertaken to develop fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) retrofit methodologies for structural and non-structural elements, specifically reinforced concrete slabs and walls, subjected to blast loading. The results of this investigation are equally valid for flexure dominant reinforced concrete beams subject to blast effects. The objective of the research program was to generate a large volume of research data for the development of blast-resistant design guidelines for externally bonded FRP retrofit systems. A combined experimental and analytical investigation was performed to achieve the objectives of the program. The experimental program involved the construction and simulated blast testing of a total of thirteen reinforced concrete wall and slab specimens divided into five companion sets. These specimens were subjected to a total of sixty simulated explosions generated at the University of Ottawa Shock Tube Testing Facility. Companion sets were designed to study one- and two-way bending, as well as the performance of specimens with simply-supported and fully-fixed boundary conditions. The majority of the specimens were retrofitted with externally bonded carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to improve overall load-deformation characteristics. Specimens within each companion set were subjected to progressively increasing pressure-impulse combinations to study component behaviour from elastic response up to inelastic component failure. The blast performance of companion as-built and retrofitted specimens was quantified in terms of measured load-deformation characteristics, and observed member behaviour throughout all stages of response. The results show that externally bonded FRP retrofits are an effective retrofit technique to improve the blast resistance of reinforced concrete structures, provided that debonding of the composite from the concrete substrate is prevented. The test results also indicate that FRP retrofitted reinforced concrete structures may survive initial inbound displacements, only to failure by moment reversals during the negative displacement phase. The experimental test data was used to verify analytical techniques to model the behaviour of reinforced concrete walls and slabs subjected to blast loading. The force-deformation characteristics of one-way wall strips were established using inelastic sectional and member analyses. The force-deformation characteristics of two-way slab plates were established using commonly accepted design approximations. The response of all specimens was computed by explicit solution of the single degree of freedom dynamic equation of motion. An equivalent static force procedure was used to analyze the response of CFRP retrofitted specimens which remained elastic after testing. The predicted maximum displacements and time-to-maximum displacements were compared against experimental results. The analysis indicates that the modelling procedures accurately describe the response characteristics of both retrofitted and unretrofitted specimens observed during the experiment.

<p>In this thesis the dynamic response of wide-flange steel beams and columns to blast loading was experimentally evaluated. A total of twenty six steel members were field tested using live explosives, where the charge size ranged from 50 to 250 kg of ANFO and the ground stand-off distance from 7.0 to 10.3 m. Blast wave characteristics, including incident and reflected pressures were recorded. In addition, time-dependant displacements, accelerations, and strains at different locations along the steel members were measured, and the post-blast damage and mode of failure of the test specimens were observed. This study also presented detailed analysis of the experimental data. The blast load characteristics were compared with those obtained using the Technical Manual UFC 3-340-02 model (UFCM). The spatial and temporal variations of strain rate were computed from the recorded strain time histories and analyzed. In addition, time-dependant deformations were analyzed to study the contributing modes of vibration in the dynamic response using Power Spectral Density (PSD) function. Moreover, the effect of the axial load on the maximum deformations, vibration periods, strain rates, and contributing modes in the dynamic response were study by comparing the beam results with the column results tested in the same blast shots.</p> <p>The experimental results were compared with those obtained from an equivalent Single-Degree-of-Freedom (SDOF) model, which included material nonlinearity, strain rate effect, and <em>P-δ</em> effect. To account for strain rate effect on member stiffness and strength, its full moment-curvature response is determined by dividing its cross-section into a number of layers and a strain rate-dependent stress-strain relationship, based on the Cowper-Symonds strain rate model, was used to capture the nonlinear stress distribution over the section. The <em>P-δ</em> effect was modelled using the equivalent lateral load (ELL) method to simulate the secondary moment due to axial load. To determine the effects of higher modes of vibration and the variation of steel member mechanical properties along its length on its dynamic response, the test steel members were also analyzed using Multi-Degree-of-Freedom (MDOF) models, based on Finite Element Modelling (FEM). These dynamic models were also used to investigate the effect of axial-bending interaction and dynamic stability of columns. In addition, the results of the dynamic models were used to evaluate the results of the Moment Magnification Factor (MMF) commonly used in the interaction formulas to design steel beam columns under blast. Moreover, the effect of strain rate caused by the blast loading on the local stability of steel columns was also evaluated insofar as it might lead to a shift in the governing mode of failure.</p> <p>Results showed the UFCM pressure predictions compared reasonably well with the measured pressure in the positive phase in terms of both the peak pressure and overall time variations. Results also showed that when proper accounting for secondary-moment due to axial load and strain rate effect on the member resistance function, the SDOF model adequately captured both the overall response, such as the time-dependant deformations and internal forces, and instability behaviour of steel columns under blast loading. It is also shown that using MMF method overestimates the column capacity for ductility ratios <em>µ</em> greater than one, irrespective of the axial load to Euler elastic buckling load ratio (<em>P</em>/<em>P</em>_e). Also for <em>P</em>/<em>Pe</em> > 0.5, even if <em>µ</em> >1.0, the UFC method still overestimates the actual column capacity. The results of the dynamic models were used to generate stability diagrams for the assessment of the critical load and Pressure-Impulse (PI) diagrams for checking the column performance against the allowable deflection limits, which can be implemented in design standard of steel structures under blast loading.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis recounts the experimental study of the dynamic response of a blast resistant glazing system to explosive loading. A combination of triaxial force sensors, pressure gauges, and laser displacement gauges capture the response in detail over a wide range of scenarios. The scenarios include low level blast loading to characterize the reaction at points around the perimeter of the window, moderate level blast loading to examine the repeatability of the blast scenario, and high level blast loading to capture the response during failure as the tensile membrane forms. The scenarios are modeled via an analytical Single-Degree-of-Freedom model as well as finite element modeling in ANSYS Explicit Dynamics. In addition, this study investigates some of the differences between experimental data and the predictions made by modeling.

<p> A numerical algorithm has been developed to solve the sloshing motion of liquid in a Tuned Liquid Damper (TLD) outfitted by slat screens under large and random amplitude of excitation. It is based on the finite-difference method. The free surface has been reconstructed using volume of fluid method. Donor-acceptor technique has been used for tracking the volume fraction field. The effect of slat screen has been included and modeled using the partial cell treatment method. </p> <p> The algorithm is an integrated fluid-structure model where the response of the structure is determined considering the effects of TLD. The structure is assumed as a single degree of freedom system (SDOF) and its response is calculated using the Duhamel integral method. </p> <p> The algorithm has been validated against experimental data for the cases with and without screens. An excellent agreement was obtained between numerical and experimental results. </p> <p> An extensive parametric study has been carried out investigating the effect of slat screens and screen pattern on the TLD performance and on the structure response. A new parameter termed as slat ratio was introduced to characterize the slat screens based on their pattern. Results indicated that screen pattern has a significant effect on the TLD performance and it could lead up to 33 % reduction in structure response. It was found that decreasing the slat ratio will increase the damping effect of a TLD outfitted by slat screen. </p> <p> The validity of the most commonly used approach, Baines and Peterson model, to calculate pressure drop of slat screens has been investigated. A conelation factor as a function of Reynolds number and solidity ratio of screen has been proposed to improve the results of this model. A new concept termed as effective solidity ratio has been proposed to account for the physical significant of screen pattern on TLD performance. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Deliberate and accidental explosions along with the heightened risk of loss of life and property damage during such events have highlighted the need for research in the behaviour of materials under high strain rates. Where an extensive body of research is available on steel and concrete structures, little to no details on how to address the design or retrofitting of wood structures subjected to a blast threat are available. Studies reported in the literature that focused on full scale light-frame wood structures did not quantify the increase in capacity due to the dynamic loading while the studies that did quantify the increase mostly stems from small clear specimens that are not representative of the behaviour of structural size members with defects. Tests on larger-scale specimens have mostly focused on the material properties and not the structural behaviour of subsystems. Advancements in design and construction techniques have greatly contributed to the emergence of taller and safer wood structures which increase potential for blast threat. This thesis presents results on the flexural behaviour of light-frame wood stud walls subjected to shock wave loading using the University of Ottawa shock tube. The emphasis is on the overall behaviour of the wall subsystem, especially the interaction between the sheathing and the studs through the nailed connection. The approach employed in this experimental program was holistic, where the specimens were investigated at the component and the subsystem levels. Twenty walls consisting of 38 mm x 140 mm machine stress-rated (MSR) studs spaced 406 mm on center and sheathed with two different types and sheathing thicknesses were tested to failure under static and dynamic loads. The experimental results were used to determine dynamic increase factors (DIFs) and a material predictive model was validated using experimental data. The implications of the code are also discussed and compared to the experimental data. Once validated, an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model incorporating partial composite action was used to evaluate current analysis and design assumptions. The results showed that a shock tube can effectively be used to generate high strain-rate flexural response in wood members and that the material predictive model was found suitable to effectively predict the displacement resulting from shock wave loading. Furthermore, it was found that current analysis and design approaches overestimated the wall displacements.

Deliberate and accidental explosions along with the heightened risk of loss of life and property damage during such events have highlighted the need for research in the behaviour of materials under high strain rates. Where an extensive body of research is available on steel and concrete structures, little to no details on how to address the design or retrofitting of wood structures subjected to a blast threat are available. Studies reported in the literature that focused on full scale light-frame wood structures did not quantify the increase in capacity due to the dynamic loading while the studies that did quantify the increase mostly stems from small clear specimens that are not representative of the behaviour of structural size members with defects. Tests on larger-scale specimens have mostly focused on the material properties and not the structural behaviour of subsystems. Advancements in design and construction techniques have greatly contributed to the emergence of taller and safer wood structures which increase potential for blast threat. This thesis presents results on the flexural behaviour of light-frame wood stud walls subjected to shock wave loading using the University of Ottawa shock tube. The emphasis is on the overall behaviour of the wall subsystem, especially the interaction between the sheathing and the studs through the nailed connection. The approach employed in this experimental program was holistic, where the specimens were investigated at the component and the subsystem levels. Twenty walls consisting of 38 mm x 140 mm machine stress-rated (MSR) studs spaced 406 mm on center and sheathed with two different types and sheathing thicknesses were tested to failure under static and dynamic loads. The experimental results were used to determine dynamic increase factors (DIFs) and a material predictive model was validated using experimental data. The implications of the code are also discussed and compared to the experimental data. Once validated, an equivalent single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) model incorporating partial composite action was used to evaluate current analysis and design assumptions. The results showed that a shock tube can effectively be used to generate high strain-rate flexural response in wood members and that the material predictive model was found suitable to effectively predict the displacement resulting from shock wave loading. Furthermore, it was found that current analysis and design approaches overestimated the wall displacements.

Dans le cadre de la protection du bâti face au risque sismique, les techniques d’analyse simplifiées, basées sur des calculs quasi-statiques en poussée progressive, se sont fortement développées au cours des deux dernières décennies. Le travail de thèse a pour objectif d’optimiser une stratégie d’analyse simplifiée proposée par Chopra et al. (2001) et adoptée par les normes américaines FEMA 273. Il s’agit d’une analyse modale non linéaire découplée, dénommée par les auteurs UMRHA qui se caractérisent principalement par : des calculs de type pushover selon les modes de vibration dominants de la structure, la création de modèles à un degré de liberté non linéaire à partir des courbes de pushover, puis le calcul de la réponse temporelle de la structure en recombinant les réponses temporelles associées à chaque mode de vibration. Dans ce travail, la méthode UMRHA a été améliorée en investiguant les points suivants. Tout d’abord, plusieurs modèles à un degré de liberté non linéaire déduits des courbes de pushover modal sont proposés afin d’enrichir la méthode UMRHA originelle qui emploie un simple modèle élasto-plastique : autres modèles élasto-plastiques avec des courbes enveloppes différentes, le modèle de Takeda prenant en compte un comportement hystérétique propre aux structures sous séismes, et enfin, un modèle simplifié basé sur la dégradation de fréquence en fonction d’un indicateur de dommage. Ce dernier modèle à un degré de liberté privilégie la vision de la chute de fréquence au cours du processus d’endommagement de la structure par rapport à une description réaliste des boucles d’hystérésis. La réponse totale de la structure est obtenue en sommant les contributions non linéaires des modes dominants aux contributions linéaires des modes non dominants. Enfin, la dégradation des déformées modales, due à l’endommagement subi par la structure au cours de la sollicitation sismique, est prise en compte dans la méthode M-UMRHA proposée dans ce travail, en généralisant le concept précédent de dégradation des fréquences modales en fonction d’un indicateur de dommage : la déformée modale devient elle-aussi dépendante d’un indicateur de dommage, le déplacement maximum en tête de l’ouvrage ; l’évolution de la déformée modale en fonction de cet indicateur est directement identifiée à partir des calculs de pushover modal. La pertinence de la nouvelle méthode M-UMRHA est investiguée pour plusieurs types de structures, en adoptant des modélisations éprouvées dans le cadre de la simulation des structures sous séismes : portique en béton armé modélisé par des éléments multifibres pour le béton et les armatures, remplissage en maçonnerie avec des éléments barres diagonales résistant uniquement en compression, bâti existant contreventé (Hôtel de Ville de Grenoble) avec des approches coques multicouches. Les résultats obtenus par la méthode simplifiée proposée sont comparés aux résultats de référence issus de l'analyse temporelle non linéaire dynamique. / In the context of building’s protection against seismic risk, simplified analysis techniques, based on quasi-static analysis of pushover, have strongly developed over the past two decades. The thesis aims to optimize a simplified method proposed by Chopra and Goel in 2001 and adopted by American standards FEMA 273. This method is a nonlinear decoupled modal analysis, called by the authors UMRHA (Uncoupled Modal for Response History Analysis) which is mainly characterized by: pushover modal analysis according to the dominant modes of vibration of the structure, setting up nonlinear single degree of freedom systems drawn from modal pushover curves, then determining the history response of the structure by combining of the temporal responses associated with each mode of vibration. The decoupling of nonlinear history responses associated with each mode is the strong assumption of the method UMRHA. In this study, the UMRHA method has been improved by investigating the following points. First of all, several nonlinear single degree of freedom systems drawn from modal pushover curves are proposed to enrich the original UMRHA method, in which a simple elastic-plastic model is used, other elastic-plastic models with different envelope curves, Takeda model taking into account an hysteretic behavior characteristic of structures under earthquakes, and finally, a simplified model based on the frequency degradation as a function of a damage index. The latter nonlinear single degree of freedom model privileges the view of the frequency degradation during the structure damage process relative to a realistic description of hysteresis loops. The total response of the structure is obtained by summing the contributions of the non linear dominant modes to those of linear non dominant modes. Finally, the degradation of the modal shapes due to the structure damage during the seismic loading is taken into account in the new simplified method M-UMRHA (Modified UMRHA) proposed in this study. By generalizing the previous model of frequency degradation as a function of a damage index: the modal shape becomes itself also dependent on a damage index, the maximum displacement at the top of the structure; the evolution of the modal shape as a function of this index is directly obtained from the modal pushover analysis. The pertinence of the new method M-UMRHA is investigated for several types of structures, by adopting tested models of structures simulation under earthquakes: reinforced concrete frame modeled by multifibre elements with uniaxial laws under cyclic loading for concrete and steel, infill masonry wall with diagonal bars elements resistant only in compression, existing building (Grenoble City Hall) with multilayer shell elements and nonlinear biaxial laws based on the concept of smeared and fixed cracks. The obtained results by the proposed simplified method are compared to the reference results derived from the nonlinear response history analysis.