An Overview of Research at ERDC on Steel Stud Exterior Wall Systems Subjected to Severe Blast Loading

Abstract

Research is currently being performed at the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to understand the structural response of buildings subjected to blast loadings from high explosive devices such as terrorist bombs. The focus of this research is to develop methodologies to produce designs that will provide protection to building occupants and maintain structural integrity for rescue operation purposes after the blast event. In particular, the U.S. Department of State-sponsored research on cold-formed steel stud wall systems using conventional steel construction materials and methods has application to exterior walls subjected to severe blast loading. The elements of this research and their interconnections are presented and include: quasi-static stud component testing; mechanical property testing of materials; connection testing; steel stud design program development; finite element quasi-static and dynamic numerical simulations; and full-scale blast testing of typical wall system designs. Although the research is still in progress, results have culminated in a preliminary methodology and a PC software program based on a single degree-of-freedom dynamic model for the design of blast-resistant steel stud exterior wall systems.