Numerical Investigation Into End Condition Effects on the Response of Reinforced Concrete Columns to Airblast Available to Purchase

Dynamic finite element analysis using explicit time integration is a useful tool for evaluating the response of reinforced concrete columns to both near-contact and offset charges. Typical analyses model a single column in the structure in order to decrease analysis times and isolate the target column response from the general structural response. The effects, if any, of the assumed boundary conditions at the isolated column ends on the column response to the airblast loads are not fully understood at this time. This paper attempts to provide a more complete understanding of such end condition effects by investigating the response of a single column model with a variety of end conditions and comparing these responses to those of a column in a much larger structural model.