Structural Response of Tall RC Systems under Blast Pressure Loading

Tall buildings with different structural systems can be exposed to explosive loading, and a proper understanding of their structural response under blast loads is crucial for robust structural design. This study investigates the structural performance of selected tall structural systems - shear wall frame, outrigger, and tube-in-tube systems - under different blast load effects. Nonlinear finite element analysis was performed using commercial package ETABS with blast loads applied as time-history functions for various charge weights and standoff distances. Structural responses were compared in terms of displacement and inter-story drift. Results showed that the tube-in-tube system performed relatively better in terms of displacement and inter-story drift as standoff distance increased and charge weight was constant. When explosive charge weights increased, and standoff distance was constant, the tube-in-tube system displayed better performance with respect to displacement, whereas the outrigger system was the optimum with reference to inter-story drift. The overall study indicates that selecting a tall structural system for better resilience against blast loading depends on specific aspects of structural behavior, identified as the required criteria.