Abstract
Ongoing terrorist attacks on many structures around the world have increased the importance of analysis of structures under blast loading. Despite the progress made in this area, there is a need to better understand the structural performance of framed concrete structures under severe loading before, inevitably, adopting any mitigation measures. Most of the structures that are damaged by bombs or impact loading are not initially designed to resist blast loads. The severe vulnerability of these structures has led to ongoing development of new provisions and guidelines of effective techniques to mitigate risks associated with explosions. In this research, detailed finite element analyses were performed using ABAQUS to assess the structural performance of reinforced concrete frames under blast loading. A model of two dimensional, 4-story reinforced concrete frame was selected for the study. The response of the structural model under the simulated blast loads is presented, along with two alternative designs as a precursor to provide mitigation guidelines in the future. Results showed that changing the design of the external columns improved the response, especially using the concrete filled steel tube section. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.