Simulación Mediante Elementos Finitos de un Sistema Multicapas de Gomaespumas Metálicas para Proteger Paredes de Hormigón Armado de Cargas Explosivas

Abstract

In the last decades blast loads caused by intentional explosions had acquired great importance. The analysis of structures subjected to this type of loads and its design to mitigate their effects have been and still is the subject of numerous investigations, especially in the United States and Europe. This paper investigates the feasibility of applying a method to reduce the response of reinforced concrete (RC) walls exposed to dynamic loads generated by explosives. For its validation, a numerical model was created with the program Abaqus. The idea is to adhere several layers of metallic foam to the exposed side of the RC Wall. The system, which consists of metallic foams made of aluminum in a sandwich configuration with metal plates, is referred to as Metallic Foam Multilayer Protection System (MFMPS). Keeping a constant thickness and varying its density and yield properties to determine the most effective type. First a linear dynamic analysis was carried out for a preliminary design. Next a full nonlinear dynamic analysis is performed to evaluate its efficiency under realistic conditions. The dynamic pressures due to explosions with several intensities and standoff distances were computed with a subroutine inside Abaqus called CONWEP (Conventional Weapons Effects) developed by the US Army Corp of Engineers. Due to computational time involved, only the case of a rectangular wall fixed in all borders was considered for the analyses. The results showed that the MFMPS is able to reduce the displacements and stresses on the wall.