Behavior of Full-Scale Porous GFRP Barrier under Blast Loads

Abstract

This research paper is part of the SAS (Security of Airport Structures) Project funded by the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection, whose objective was to develop and deploy a fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) fencing system intended to protect airport infrastructures against terrorist acts. In the paper, the efficacy of the proposed glass FRP discontinuous (porous) barrier under blast loads is presented by showing the results of the blast test campaign conducted on full-size specimens with a focus on the reduction of the blast shock wave induced by the barrier. A simplified model predicting the reduction of the shock wave beyond the barrier is proposed and validated via the experimental data obtained in the project.

Blast wave interaction with structures – An overview

“…Zhou and Hao (2008) then generated a more comprehensive numerical simulation dataset that was used to derive an empirical formula for pressure, impulse, arrival time and decay time of the pressure load at each point on the wall. This methodology was then adapted for a fence wall barrier by Gencel et al (2015). The work of Zhou and Hao (2008) was extended by Steven and Khaled (2017) for frangible walls, by using a correction factor based on the effectiveness (in alleviating pressure and impulse) of 12 materials that were available in literature.…”

“…This gave rise to the concept of what is now referred to as a 'fence wall' (Figure 20). Gencel et al (2015) studied the effectiveness of a 2 m long barrier comprising a series of 13 GFRP poles, each 2.5 m tall and having an outer diameter of 85 mm, as shown schematically in Figure 20. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of protecting airport terminals using barriers whilst maintaining radio transparency.…”

“…where, P f ¼ 10 2:881 F À2:363 p i f ¼ 10 2:155 F À2:399 p (7) Zhou and Hao (2008) then generated a more comprehensive numerical simulation dataset that was used to derive an empirical formula for pressure, impulse, arrival time and decay time of the pressure load at each point on the wall. This methodology was then adapted for a fence wall barrier by Gencel et al (2015). The work of Zhou and Hao (2008) was extended by Steven and Khaled The model can be explicitly or implicitly solved in time, depending on the type of the software.…”

Experimental investigation of blast mitigation of pre-fractal obstacles

“…One such measure is through the use of engineered protective structures. Typically these are formed of hardened, monolithic barriers (Smith, 2010); however, recently a new type of blast wall has been proposed (Asprone et al, 2015), termed a 'fence-type' blast wall. Fence-type blast walls are formed using an array of smaller obstacles and aim to match the mitigation properties of a monolithic blast wall with substantially reduced structural weight and enhanced portability (Hao et al, 2017).…”