Abstract
In the recent past, structures all over the world have become susceptible to the very real threat of terrorist attacks, accidental explosions and other unthought-of explosion related events. Consequently, a number of concerns have been raised on the vulnerability and behavior of buildings and critical infrastructure under extreme loadings. The paper presents a blast analysis of a typical multi-storey reinforced concrete framed building located in Riyadh for its vulnerability assessment by considering different threat scenarios. The building taken up for the study is ten storey high including two storeys of basement. One important feature of the building is the presence of a low height bay surrounding the main core of the building which may act as a sacrificial corridor for outside blast. LS-DYNA software, which uses explicit time integration algorithms for solution, has been employed for finite element analysis. The results of the study are proposed to be used to control or prevent progressive collapse of the building. The paper also presents current state of knowledge on progressive collapse in the technical literature covering blast loads and structural analysis procedure applicable to reinforced concrete buildings.