Economical Damage Classification Approach for Blast-Resistant Buildings in Petrochemical Plants

Abstract

North American guidelines published by the ASCE and CSA provide a high-level approach for damage classification of blast resistant buildings. Furthermore, the structural damage assessment procedure of critical buildings is overlooked by the petrochemical industry. This paper provides guidelines for the design of buildings subject to far-field blast loads generated within petrochemical plants. A cost-effective procedure for the damage classification of buildings subject to vapor cloud explosions is proposed. The building components are assigned various levels of damage class in order to optimize the material cost. Analytical tools are also proposed that can be utilized by practitioners to assess structural response and select blast loading parameters. Approximate expressions are presented to compute overpressure induced by accidental vapor-cloud blast explosions. The described approach is cost-effective and can be used in the industry to optimize the design of blast-resistant buildings and reduce the project capital cost. Guidelines are provided using a case study for a typical industrial building.