Nanoparticle Reinforced Polymer for Blast Protection of Unreinforced Masonry Wall: Laboratory Blast Load Simulation and Design Models

Abstract

This paper investigates the performance of a new generation of nanoparticle-reinforced polymeric materials as an alternative to fiber-reinforced polymer for the protection of masonry structures against blast loads. The nanoparticles used in this study include exfoliated graphene nano platelets (XGnP) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). The polymer is polyurea. A one-quarter scale physical model of unreinforced masonry walls, spray coated with the nanoparticle-reinforced polymers, are subjected to blast load in the Engineer Research and Development Center Blast Load Simulator facility. POSS-reinforced polyurea is observed to significantly enhance the performance of masonry walls sustaining blast loads, whereas XGnP reinforcement has only marginal improvement. To build a numerical simulation and engineering design capability, computer models using ANSYS AUTODYN and simplified analytical models are constructed. These models fairly accurately predict the observed laboratory tests.