Events Calendar

Oral Defense Dissertation

Speaker: Hossein Ataei, CE Ph.D. Candidate

Talk Title: Effect of the Air Blast on Glazing Systems Safety:

Abstract: Glass fragments are a prime source of injury to occupants of buildings subjected to explosive events. During an air blast, window glass breaks into flying shards (or fragments) that account for civilian injuries ranging from minor cuts to severe wounds and in many cases to death.
Through balancing the safety and security of the window panels with physical appearance and cost-effectiveness, a successful blast-resistant glazing design considers the principles of a reasonable degree of protection against explosive threats based on the proposed level of security and previous lessons learned. Therefore, it is necessary to have a better understanding of the mechanics of glass panel responses to different glazing systems parameters and the blast load characteristics.
In this research, the responses of annealed glass and fully tempered glass panels subjected to air blast loadings are studied by application of the explicit finite element analysis in conjunction with fracture micromechanics principles. The window panel failure patterns and the glass crack propagation paths are investigated and analyzed using advanced finite element modeling techniques.
The results of this study indicate that the response of the window panels to blast loading cases is dependent upon the glazing material properties, window panel sizes, window framing fixity and the blast load intensities.
These findings will eventually be helpful in development of a more comprehensive flying glass injury model that uses the appropriate structural, architectural and building perimeter choices to better assess the threats that face the building occupants' safety and the civilian communities' security against the flying glass debris.

Advisor: Professor James C. Anderson

Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 Conference Room

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Evangeline Reyes