The engineering of buildings for blast loading is based on a complex interaction of assessing the likelihood of the risk together with an assessment of how the structure will behave at extreme loadings. These activities are often referred to as probabilistic analyses and parametric studies.

Blast loads originating from accidental ignition of gases or detonation of explosives are highly unusual, extreme cases. Designers must nonetheless take blast load into account and find a way to safeguard life and prevent a building’s collapse without applying unfeasibly large loadings to the structure.

A blast load analysis sets out to identify likely sources of blast, which areas need to be protected and to what degree. Careful spatial planning and well designed site layout can separate likely blast sources from protected functions and space and therefore reduce blast loading.

Our multi-disciplinary approach, which combines structural and building engineering with a wide range of specialist skills, enables us to assess the capacity and robustness of entire building systems. Using complex Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis tools to model blast forces, we assess how materials will behave under extreme loading.

Having decided on the optimum layout and included security measures to reduce risks, our structural engineers work on measures to mitigate blast loads by dispersing them through deformable facades and a flexible structure. This involves designing buildings which are rigid under normal conditions but have sufficient flexibility to sway and shed loads under blast pressure.