Document No.

GP 04-30
Applicability Group
Date Draft 1 August 2005

Guidance on Practice for

Design of Buildings Subject to Blast Loading

GP 04-30

BP GROUP
ENGINEERING TECHNICAL PRACTICES
Draft 1 August 2005 GP 04-30
Guidance on Practice for Design of Buildings Subject to Blast Loading

Foreword

This is the first issue of Engineering Technical Practice (ETP) BP GP 04-30.

Copyright  2005, BP Group. All rights reserved. The information contained in this
document is subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement or contract under which
the document was supplied to the recipient’s organization. None of the information
contained in this document shall be disclosed outside the recipient’s own organization
without the prior written permission of the Director of Engineering, BP Group, unless the
terms of such agreement or contract expressly allow.

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Table of Contents
Page
Foreword.......................................................................................................................................... 2
1. Scope...................................................................................................................................... 5
2. Normative references.............................................................................................................. 5
3. Symbols and abbreviations.....................................................................................................5
4. General................................................................................................................................... 6
5. Loading................................................................................................................................... 7
5.1. General........................................................................................................................ 7
5.2. Normal loading............................................................................................................. 7
5.3. Blast loading................................................................................................................. 7
5.4. Traditional methods......................................................................................................7
6. Blast risk assessment.............................................................................................................. 8
7. Cost benefit analysis (CBA)....................................................................................................9
7.1. General........................................................................................................................ 9
7.2. Options for blast protections.........................................................................................9
7.3. Costs............................................................................................................................ 9
7.4. Benefits (loss reduction)...............................................................................................9
7.5. Cost benefit ratio........................................................................................................10
8. Load combinations................................................................................................................ 11
9. Analysis and design of structures..........................................................................................11
9.1. Analysis/design procedure..........................................................................................11
9.2. Dynamic analysis........................................................................................................11
9.3. CIA method................................................................................................................12
9.4. Equivalent static method............................................................................................12
9.5. Existing buildings.......................................................................................................12
10. Considerations for toxic and fire risks....................................................................................12
10.1. Toxic risk.................................................................................................................... 12
10.2. Fire Risk..................................................................................................................... 13
Annex A (Normative) Design of blast resistant buildings................................................................17
A1. General................................................................................................................................. 17
A2. Definition............................................................................................................................... 17
A3. Excluded materials................................................................................................................ 17
A4. Dynamic design methods......................................................................................................17
A5. Loads.................................................................................................................................... 17
A5.1 Normal building loads.................................................................................................17
A5.2 Positive blast pressures and durations.......................................................................17
A5.3 Negative blast loadings..............................................................................................18

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A6. Design loading combinations (design code load combinations)............................................18

A7. Design criteria and calculation method..................................................................................19
A7.1 Normal loading conditions..........................................................................................19
A7.2 Blast loading conditions..............................................................................................19
A8. Dynamic structural capacity..................................................................................................20
A9. Additional structural requirements.........................................................................................21
A9.1 Reinforced concrete...................................................................................................21
A9.2 Reinforcing bars.........................................................................................................21
A9.3 Joints.......................................................................................................................... 21
A10. Foundation design.................................................................................................................22
A10.1 Normal loads..............................................................................................................22
A10.2 Dynamic loads............................................................................................................ 22
A11. Additional design considerations...........................................................................................22
A11.1 General...................................................................................................................... 22
A11.2 Location..................................................................................................................... 22
A11.3 Orientation..................................................................................................................22
A11.4 External doors............................................................................................................ 22
A11.5 Other openings...........................................................................................................22
A11.6 Viewing facilities.........................................................................................................23
A11.7 Roof plant................................................................................................................... 23
A11.8 Staffing levels.............................................................................................................23
A11.9 Internal finishes.......................................................................................................... 23
A11.10 Wall/ceiling mounted equipment............................................................................23
A11.11Internal partitions........................................................................................................24
A11.12 External features...................................................................................................24
A11.13 Services connections.............................................................................................24

List of Tables

Table A1 - Positive blast pressures and durations for various structural elements..........................25
Table A2 - Average uniform loading for frames...............................................................................25

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Blast risk assessment/cost benefit analysis procedure...................................................14

Figure 2 - Design procedure for buildings subject to blast loading..................................................15
Figure 3 - Typical structural schemes for design blast loads...........................................................16
Figure A1 - Resistance-deflection curve.........................................................................................26

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Guidance on Practice for Design of Buildings Subject to Blast Loading

1. Scope

This GP provides guidance for the design of land based buildings in areas subject to blast risks,
including how costs and benefits of protection may be established.

2. Normative references

The following normative documents contain requirements that, through reference in this text,
constitute requirements of this technical practice. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or
revisions of, any of these publications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based on this
technical practice are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the most recent editions of
the normative documents indicated below. For undated references, the latest edition of the normative
document referred to applies.

BP
GP 44-70 Guidance on Practice for Plant Layout.
Guideline on the Use of Quantified Risk Assessment (QRA) and
Development of Risk Criteria, BP Corporate HSE Team. Draft Issued
October 1992.

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

ASCE Manual 42 Design of Structures to Resist Nuclear Weapons Effects.
EM 1110 345 Design of Structures to Resist the Effects of Atomic Weapons.
414 Strength of Materials and Structural Elements, 1957.
415 Principles of Dynamic Analysis and Design, 1957.
416 Structural Elements Subjected to Dynamic Loads, 1957.
419 Shear Wall Structures, 1958.

British Standards Institute (BSI)

BS 4449 Carbon Steel Bars for the Reinforcement of Concrete.
BS 5950 Structural Use of Steelwork in Buildings.
BS 8110 Structural Use of Concrete.

Chemical Industries Association (CIA)

An Approach to the Categorisation of Process Plant Hazard and Control Building Design.

Other
Structural Design for Dynamic Load Norris et al, McGraw-Hill ,1959.
Introductory to Structural Dynamics J.M. Biggs, McGraw-Hill, 1964.
Structures to Resist the Effects of Accidental Explosions Dept. of Army Manual, TM5-1300, 1969.

3. Symbols and abbreviations

For the purpose of this GP, the following symbols and abbreviations apply:

BRA Blast Risk Assessment.

CBA Cost Benefit Analysis.

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CFR Co-operative Fuel Research.

CIA Chemical Industries Association (UK).

HVAC Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.

QRA Quantified Risk Assessment.

4. General

a. This GP may refer to certain local, national, or international regulations. The responsibility
to ensure compliance with legislation and any other statutory requirements lies with the
user. The user should adapt or supplement this GP to ensure compliance for specific
application.
b. This GP should be used by BP businesses that own or operate land based buildings in areas
subject to blast risks.
c. This GP may be applied to all types of buildings and is not restricted to control buildings.
d. The purpose of this GP is to provide guidance on:
1. Methods available to determine blast loading.
2. How costs and benefits of protecting buildings may be determined.
3. Methods available and principles of structural design for buildings exposed to blast
loading.
4. Upgrading of existing buildings.
e. Determination of blast loading and design of buildings subject to blast should be
performed by a team of experienced civil/structural engineers, process engineers, and
safety risk analysts.
f. This GP is based on a four step approach that should be applied to design of new buildings
and upgrading of existing buildings. The steps are:
1. Determine blast risk.
2. Identify options for design/location of building.
3. Evaluate options.
4. Perform detailed structural design.
g. Approach is intended to determine incremental risks due to blast loading and ensure such
risks are kept within acceptable bounds.
h. Risk presented by plant is the major consideration in specifying blast resistant
requirements for a new building at a given location (or assessing an existing building).
i. Blast risk assessment should be conducted to evaluate nature, magnitude, and potential
consequences of potential hazards.
j. Location/strengthening options
1. For new buildings, various location options should be considered, subject to
operational requirements.
2. Different strengths of building structures may be required for each location.
3. For existing buildings, strengthening options should be considered.

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k. Cost benefit analysis (CBA)

1. Decision concerning choice of most appropriate location and design blast load for
new buildings on proposed plant should be determined using cost benefit analysis
(CBA) based on risk assessment.
2. CBA should also be used to evaluate upgrading proposals for existing buildings.
l. If building is subject to blast, design philosophy shall aim to maximise economy, while
ensuring reliable and predictable performance.
m. Design should take into account dynamic characteristics of building structure.

5. Loading

5.1. General
Buildings and structures are subjected to a wide range of normal loadings. In
addition, a building may also be subjected to blast loading.

5.2. Normal loading

a. Normal loadings include design loading, such as dead load, live load, and environmental
load (wind, snow, seismic, etc.).
b. Buildings shall be designed to resist combinations of these loads as specified in codes of
practice and standards.

5.3. Blast loading

a. For structural design, blast pressure impulse should be considered. This is defined by peak
incident overpressure (Po), positive phase duration (to), and load time history (i.e., variation
of overpressure with time during positive phase).
b. These values should be obtained by using blast risk assessment procedure described in 4.
This approach is a relatively recent development. “Traditional” methods are
described in the 5.4 commentaries to illustrate their uses and conservatism.

5.4. Traditional methods

5.4.1. CIA prescribed dynamic

The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) publication “Process Plant Hazard and
Control Building Design” (1979) contains a set of blast loadings based on relating
unconfined vapour cloud explosions to TNT equivalence. These loadings are given
in A.5. It is assumed the building is located not less than 30 m (98 ft) from the
nearest source of hazard giving rise to approximately 15 tonnes (33 kips) of
flammable vapour.
This is a conservative approach, as the load cases do not allow for variation in
loading due to inventory product type, quantity, or the actual distance of the
building from the plant.

5.4.2. Equivalent static

This is essentially a prescriptive method in which dynamic loads are expressed as
equivalent static load. The equivalent static load is usually found by designing a
building using a dynamic design method (e.g., the CIA method described in 7.2) and
back calculating the equivalent static loads the members will resist. This equivalent
static load is then used to produce a blast design specification. An equivalent static

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loading method also requires further guidance on reinforcement detailing and

member sizes to ensure ductile response under blast loading.
This method can be applied to situations in which buildings of similar layout are
being designed for similar process plants. This approach has been used successfully
by BP Chemicals, which has produced standard building design specifications for
different hazard situations.
The disadvantages of this method are:
 Unless the original and proposed buildings are identical in structural layout, the
method cannot take into account the dynamic nature of the building structure.
 The type of plant and location of the building within the plant must be similar in
both original and proposed plants.
If there is any variation in the above factors, it is unlikely the designers will be able
to compensate without resort to further blast risk assessment studies and dynamic
design methods. In addition, design teams using this approach may not be aware of
the fundamental basis of the method and apply it inadvertently to situations where it
is not applicable.

5.4.3. Location and layout

Location of a building a set distance (i.e., 30 m (98 ft) from the plant) or any other
plant layout requirements does not necessarily ensure the building or its occupants
are protected from blast risks. These requirements do not address the blast
characteristics or the probability of blast occurring.

6. Blast risk assessment

a. Blast risk assessment studies shall examine plant containing hazardous inventories and use
methods, such as fault tree analysis, to identify series of events that could lead to release
and/or an explosion.
b. Each identified event should be assigned associated frequency of occurrence.
c. Overpressure versus distance relationship
1. Consequences of events identified in blast risk assessment should be modelled to
obtain overpressure versus distance relationship.
2. This relationship should be drawn as a set of contours on plot plan.
3. Contours may be either overpressure contours plotted for given frequency or
frequency contours for given level of overpressure.
4. Contours should be used to compare various options for locating new building.
d. Once building location is established, a further consequence model should be run to
determine duration of blast impulse. This should be similarly applied to an existing
building, the location of which is fixed.
e. Blast consequence modelling should be based on multi energy method developed by The
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Research (TNO).
Two methods available for blast consequence modelling are the TNT equivalence
method and the multi energy method. Based on recent research, it is considered that
the multi energy method is superior to the TNT method for modelling hydrocarbon
vapour cloud explosions (the TNO model is available within the BP CIRRUS suite
of consequence models).

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7. Cost benefit analysis (CBA)

7.1. General
a. CBA shall be used to evaluate:
1. Different location options (with appropriate degree of blast protection) for new
buildings.
2. Proposed upgrading projects for existing buildings.
b. Individual national Health Safety and Environment (HSE) authorities or BP businesses
may have prescribed requirements/procedures for design of buildings or criteria for risk to
personnel. These requirements shall be taken into account and may override results of
CBA.
For guidance, see BP Corporate HSE Team Guidelines.
c. Costs and benefits of various options should be evaluated as described in 7.2 through 7.5.

7.2. Options for blast protections

Options to be considered in CBA may fall into the following general categories:
a. Do not consider blast loading.
b. Conventional building with minor modifications.
c. Structure designed to resist design blast load or strengthened (if existing).
d. Relocate building and repeat blast risk assessment/CBA.
e. Reduce building occupancy/function and repeat CBA.

7.3. Costs
Incremental cost (IC) beyond base case associated with protecting building against blast load
should be determined for each option considered. It may consist of a combination of the
following items:
a. New building
1. Structure designed to resist blast.
2. HVAC system protected against blast.
b. Existing building
1. Strengthened/modified to resist blast.
2. HVAC system modifications.
c. Building relocated to lower blast risk area - relocation costs for occupants/equipment.
d. Plant modification to reduce blast risk.
Typical structural schemes associated with varying levels of design blast load are
given in Figure 3. It is assumed blast loading duration is of the order of 50 to 100
ms (which is typical for a hydrocarbon vapour cloud explosion). Note that, for new
buildings, the strengthening is designed in, whereas existing buildings may need to
be modified.

7.4. Benefits (loss reduction)

a. Benefits required from building subjected to blast loading are protection of occupants and
equipment.

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b. Incremental benefit (IB) beyond base case associated with protecting building should be
expressed in monetary terms by valuing reduced risk of losses that would be incurred if
building collapsed.
c. Such losses may consist of the following elements:
1. Personnel.
2. Business interruption.
3. Property damage.
4. Loss of reputation.
5. Loss of licence to operate.
d. Losses should be expressed in monetary units/year.
e. Guidance on value of these elements should be sought from relevant BP businesses.
f. Incremental benefit of providing new building or strengthening existing building to resist
blast can be expressed as:

B = L×Y×F
Where:
L = Loss per year as calculated above (e.g., 1+2+3+4+5)
Y = Design life of building/plant
F = Reduction of frequency of building collapse
Note: The blast risk assessment for a given plant will yield a range of frequencies
(F) and associated levels of overpressure. Y is a constant. The values of loss for
items 1, 2, and 3 (within L) should be estimated based on an overpressure versus
damage/personnel vulnerability relationship for the building.

7.5. Cost benefit ratio

a. Incremental benefit to cost ratio (IB:IC)
1. Incremental benefit to cost ratio (IB:IC), i.e., marginal risk reduction per unit
expenditure, for each building option should be successively evaluated for increasing
protection levels.
2. Optimum option, yielding design case shall be that with minimum benefit to cost
ratio exceeding 1,0.
Beyond this point, incremental costs of protection start to exceed incremental
benefits of risk reduction.
b. New buildings shall be designed to resist resulting loading.
c. Existing buildings shall be checked and, if necessary, strengthened or modified to
implement optimum option.
Note that the output from this calculation should be used for guidance only. There
may be other local practices, standards, regulations, or political requirements that
demand further protection against blast.
The overall assessment process is summarised in Figure 1.

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8. Load combinations

a. Buildings shall be capable of resisting normal load combinations before blast loading is
considered.
During the design of a structure, a number of load cases, e.g., the load cases
specified in BS 8110, are typically considered.
b. Blast loading shall be applied with dead and live loads as a particular load case.
In the absence of any national guidelines, the load case can be applied as 1,0 Dead
Load + 1,0 Live Load + 1,0 Blast Load using ultimate limit design, such as BS 8110
or BS 5950.
It should be noted that the blast load case does not necessarily govern the design of
all or any part of the structure, as other load combinations (e.g., seismic) may be
more severe.

9. Analysis and design of structures

9.1. Analysis/design procedure

a. Analysis/design procedure shall demonstrate that building will protect its occupants and
equipment to optimum level of safety and performance derived above.
b. As a minimum, building shall be capable of protecting its occupants and equipment
through one occurrence of design basis event (although it may be necessary to rebuild
structure).
c. Greater level of protection/performance, if required for factors other than those considered
in CBA (e.g., for a building controlling many plants), should be specified at outset of
design procedure.
d. Analysis/design procedure shall optimise use of materials and sizing of structural members
by accurately modelling response to dynamic loading.
The choice of analysis/design methods depends on such factors as materials of
construction, whether the building is existing or proposed, and the structural layout.
e. Three methods are described in 9.2, 9.3, and 9.4. Method shall be selected by structural
engineer experienced in all aspects of blast resisting design.

9.2. Dynamic analysis

Dynamic analysis packages capable of two dimensional non linear structural analysis should be
used to model behaviour of building structures accurately.
This approach evaluates the detailed displacement time history for a specified
loading function and, by so doing, determines the actual ductility of the
structure/structural element. This is achieved by solving the equations of motion for
the structural system and comparing actual ductility with the ductility ratio assumed
in design. The process is iterative, and section properties are optimised by
convergence of actual and design values of ductility.
It is recommended that this approach be adopted, as it is the most satisfactory way
to model structural behaviour, in particular if analysing an existing building. For a
new building, the costs of dynamic analysis may not be justified for standard
structural elements. For long spans or other unusual features, optimisation using
dynamic analysis may produce useful benefits.

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Guidance on Practice for Design of Buildings Subject to Blast Loading

9.3. CIA method

This method shall follow the details given in Appendix 1.7 of CIA document “Process Plant
Hazard and Control Building Design”. These details are repeated in Annex A.
Note that the input loadings to the equations do not need to be the CIA prescribed
loadings but may be the loadings calculated from blast risk assessment/CBA
outlined in 5.
The main advantages of this method are that it is relatively easy to use and is well
established within the industry. It takes into account the dynamic nature of the
loading and material.
The disadvantages of the method are that it only considers individual elements and
does not consider the structure as a whole. In addition, this method only satisfies the
upper bound loading conditions and cannot give optimisation of design in terms of
structural ductility.

9.4. Equivalent static method

a. Blast load shall be applied to building as equivalent static imposed load.
b. Structure should be designed to meet criteria of national codes under blast load condition.
This approach is simple to use as the designer does not need any experience in blast
resistant design. However, as explained in 5.4.2, it is only suitable in well defined
situations and has a number of major weaknesses.

9.5. Existing buildings

a. If considering existing building exposed to blast loading, structural assessment/analysis
shall be performed, as described in Annex A, to determine its response to blast loading.
b. Options for strengthening structural elements shown to be incapable of resisting blast
loading should be developed and evaluated. Such options vary considerably, depending on
type of building structure and blast loading to which it was exposed.
In general, a conventional framed building is unlikely to have satisfactory
performance for blast loadings in excess of 15 kN/m2 (313 lb/ft2) (unless it was
specifically designed to resist blast loading).
If the structure is capable of resisting the overpressure, the behaviour of non
structural elements, such as doors, HVAC equipment, and windows, should be
evaluated as described in A11.
Figure 2 summarises the overall design procedure for each of the above referenced
design techniques.

10. Considerations for toxic and fire risks

10.1. Toxic risk

Buildings designed to protect against toxic vapours post blast shall be designed to ensure that
seals in doors and windows maintain sufficiently accurate alignment to ensure the vapour
barrier is maintained.
If protection against the ingress of toxic and/or flammable vapours is required,
additional requirements of design, location, and use of buildings may be necessary.
Such protection may include special provisions for heating, ventilating, and air
conditioning, including instrumentation and control systems. Additional
requirements for protection against toxic and/or flammable vapour materials must
not be allowed to weaken the provision for protection against blast.

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Consideration should be given to protection of the building against the ingress of

toxic/flammable liquids. Additional requirements for protection against liquids
should not compromise the provisions for protection against the hazards of
flammable vapours.

10.2. Fire Risk

It is assumed buildings have conventional appropriate fire protection; this aspect is,
therefore, not considered further in this guide. If there is a significant risk of flame
impingement for long periods, consideration should be given to protection of the
building.

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Figure 1 - Blast risk assessment/cost benefit analysis procedure

Refer to Clause 6Blast risk Refer to Clause 7.3Incremental Costs Refer to Clause 7.4Value of risk
assessment resultsBlast (IC)Building structure reduction (Compared to base
pressure Location costs case)Occupants
Duration Special features (Doors, HVAC protection) Equipment
Frequency Loss of production
Building location
Plant life
(Years)
Relocate

Load parametersIncremental costs (IC)Incremental benefits (IB)Clause 7.5

IB – IC ratioOutcomeDesign peak incident overpressure

(kN/m2)Duration

Downgrade
SFrequency
(Events/year cumulativeDesign features
or modificationsIncremental costValue of risk
X
Plant life
Decreasing

X
frequency<1NoneBase case 0Base case 0OptimumNo blast load1 – 3Replace glass in windowsMinor modifications3 - 10Framed building design to national
code>10Design structure
Or
Strengthen to
resist blast
loadStrengthen existing building
or
Design new building to optimised blast load
or
Relocate
or
DowngradeRebuild
or
Relocate
or Page 14 of 26

Downgrade
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Guidance on Practice for Design of Buildings Subject to Blast Loading
Figure 2 - Design procedure for buildings subject to blast loading

LOADINGS (CLAUSE 5) LOAD COMBINATION (CLAUSE 8) ANALYSIS/DESIGN (CLAUSE 9)

CALCULATED DESIGN BLAST

LOAD AND MAXIMUM CREDIBLE DL + LL +CALCULATED
BLAST LOAD FROM BLAST
HAZARD ASSESSMENT AND DYNAMIC LOAD
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS METHOD IN ANNEX A
OR
or DYNAMIC ANALYSIS
BLAST LOADING
(CLAUSE 5.3)
PRESCRIBED DYNAMIC LOAD DL + LL +PRESCRIBED
FROM A.5
Select one method DYNAMIC LOAD
to calculate blast
loading
or

DL + LL +EQUIVALENT
EQUIVALENT STATIC LOAD STATIC METHODS
STATIC LOAD

Add dead load (DL) and

live load (LL) to the blast
load in the 3 options
DEAD LOAD (DL)
LIVE LOAD (LL)

NORMAL DESIGN TO
NORMAL LOAD NATIONAL CODES
LOADING ENVIRONMENTAL LOADS COMBINATIONS
(CLAUSE 5.2)
WIND
SNOW
SEISMIC
ETC.
END

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Figure 3 - Typical structural schemes for design blast loads

Peak incident overpressure

kN/m2 Walls Roof Structure Windows/Doors/HVAC Notes
Existing New
<1 <1 No restrictions. No restrictions. No restrictions. No restrictions.
1-3 1–3 No restrictions. No restrictions. No restrictions.  Glazing to be safe in
blast, i.e., toughened
glass or polycarbonate.
3 - 15 3 – 10 Damage to walls Independently supported  Framed structure in  Glazing to be safe in  New buildings designed to
shall not cause roof by frame. reinforced concrete or blast, i.e., toughened national codes are usually
collapse. structural steel. glass or polycarbonate. adequate for this level of
 Joints shall be  Catch bars should be overexposure.
designed to ensure considered.  Existing buildings, in
ductile behaviour. particular precast concrete
buildings, shall be checked
for continuity in joints.
>15 10 – 30 Shall be designed to  Independently  Framed structure in  No windows.  Buildings designed to
resist design supported by frame. reinforced concrete or resist this range of
 Doors to be steel (heavy
reflected structural steel. overpressures are
 Difficult to  Shall be designed to industrial type).
overpressure. generally steel framed with
strengthen resist design  Joints shall be  Consideration to be
overpressure. designed to ensure precast concrete or steel
conventional given to protecting wall panels and in situ
buildings. ductile behaviour. HVAC system with blast concrete roof slab.
 Consider  Shall be designed to dampers.
resist design  Existing buildings shall be
providing new  No roof mounted plant. checked and strengthened
building. overpressure.
if feasible.
>30 Shall be designed to  Independently In general, structure will be  No windows.  Buildings designed to
resist design supported by frame. in situ concrete shear wall resist this level of
 Doors shall be designed
reflected type. overpressure are costly.
 Shall be designed to to resist reflected blast
overpressure.
resist design overpressure.  Relocation should be
overpressure.  Blast dampers shall be considered.
provided to HVAC
inlet/outlet ducts.
Notes:
1. Reflected overpressure shall be calculated from references in Annex A or from:
�7P + 4P �
Pr = 2Po � a o�
�7P +P �
� a o �

Where:
Po = peak incident overpressure.
Pr = reflected overpressure.
Pa = atmospheric pressure.
2. 100 kN/m2 = 1 bar
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Annex A
(Normative)
Design of blast resistant buildings

A1. General

a. This annex is based on the guidelines given in CIA publication, An Approach to the
Categorisation of Process Plant Hazard and Control Building Design, Appendix I.
b. This procedure should be limited to rectangular box shaped single story buildings.
It is recommended that a full blast risk assessment/CBA study be conducted to find
the design load. In the absence of this study, the loads given in A.5.2 may be used,
although they are likely to be conservative.
Note: If a blast risk assessment study exists for a similar plant, the loadings from
this study may be used, provided the influence of surrounding process units are
considered.

A2. Definition

a. Blast resistant buildings shall be defined as buildings or other structures capable of

withstanding effects of an accidental plant explosion.
b. “Withstanding the effects” shall mean that the structure may suffer damage, provided this
does not result in collapse, danger to personnel, or render control equipment inoperable.

A3. Excluded materials

a. Materials that form part of structure shall not display non ductile behaviour.
b. This shall include unreinforced concrete, masonry, and brickwork.
The use of prestressed concrete is not covered in this procedure.

A4. Dynamic design methods

Unless approved otherwise, design procedures contained in references listed in 2 shall be

applied.

A5. Loads

A5.1 Normal building loads

Loading for normal conditions shall be calculated in accordance with applicable national/local
building codes.

A5.2 Positive blast pressures and durations

Note conversion factor: 100 kN/m2= 1 000 mbars.
Loads are from CIA document: Process Plant Hazard and Control Building Design,
An Approach to Categorisation.

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Guidance on Practice for Design of Buildings Subject to Blast Loading

A5.2.1 Load cases

a. In absence of full blast risk assessment/ CBA study, applicable design load case in A5.2.2
through A5.2.4 should be used, although it is likely to be conservative.
b. Structure shall be designed to withstand both specified incident blast loadings, as
applicable, in accordance with in A5.2.2 and A5.2.3 and checked for adequate resistance to
that given in A5.2.4.
These load cases are summarised in Table A.1 and further details are given below.

A5.2.2 Blast duration of 20 ms

a. Peak incident overpressure (Po) of 70 kN/m2 (1 462 lb/ft2) with positive blast duration (to)
of 20 ms (0,02 s); blast induced pressure decreasing linearly from maximum value at t = 0
to zero at t = to. See Table A1 for details of loading on structural elements.
b. Two way slabs with short spans greater than 3 m (9,8 ft) may be designed for average
uniform loading specified for frames as shown in Table A2.
c. Structural framing (portal, shear wall, etc.), if provided to resist lateral and vertical blast
loads, shall be designed as plane frames for effects of blast pressure on any one wall in
accordance with above mentioned specifications for walls and together with average
uniform roof loading as given in Table A2.
d. For spans between those listed, pressures and durations may be interpolated linearly.
e. If BP considers that, if quantity and point of emission of flammable material is estimated,
building would be deeply enveloped (i.e., there would be sufficient cloud depth above it
for flame propagation to reach shock conditions), roof shall be designed to withstand full
reflected load. In this case, Table A2 shall not apply.

A5.2.3 Blast duration of 100 ms

Peak incident overpressure (Po) of 20 kN/m2 (418 lb/ft2), with positive blast duration (to) of
100 ms (0,1 s); blast induced pressure increasing linearly from zero at t = 0 to maximum value
at t = 50 ms (0,05 s) and decreasing linearly to zero at t = to. See Table A1 for loadings on
individual structural elements.

A5.2.4 Blast duration of 30 ms

Peak incident overpressure (Po) of 100 kN/m2 (2 088 lb/ft2), reflected pressure of 275 kN/m2
(5 743 lb/ft2), with positive blast duration (to) of 30 ms (0,03 s); blast induced pressure
decreasing linearly from maximum value at t = 0 to zero at t = t o. See Table A1 for loadings on
individual structural elements.

A5.3 Negative blast loadings

Suction phase of blast may be ignored, provided that structural rebound is considered.

A6. Design loading combinations (design code load combinations)

a. Design load case shall be blast load + dead load + imposed load.
b. Walls shall be designed to resist reflected blast pressure.
c. Imposed load shall not be considered if it provides beneficial effect.
d. For reinforced concrete, partial safety factor for load (f) shall be 1,00.

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A7. Design criteria and calculation method

A7.1 Normal loading conditions

Normal loading design (A6) shall comply with applicable national standards for structural
steelwork and for reinforced concrete using appropriate load factors, stresses, and other criteria.

A7.2 Blast loading conditions

A7.2.1 Method
a. Design of structural element for blast effect shall be by method that takes into account its
dynamic responses, such as those provided in references listed in 2.
b. Structural elements shall be analysed for applicable dynamic loadings. Such loadings shall
be specified blast loads to which structural element may be directly exposed or dynamic
reactions from members that structural element supports.
c. Analysis may be most simply achieved by method given in A7.2.2. It should be noted that
formula in A7.2.2 is for discrete members only. Frames shall be checked for their dynamic
response with damping provided by plastic hinges.

A7.2.2 Dynamic resistance (R)

Required dynamic resistance (R) for structural element should be taken as:
R = p/
Where:

 2 - 1  2 - 1 t o
 = +
 to 2  t o + 0.77 
 =
to = duration of blast load
p = peak value of applied blast load
 = fundamental period of vibration of structural element
Xm = maximum allowable dynamic displacement
Xy = effective yield displacement (based on equivalent elastic-plastic load deformation
relationship).
Note: If members, which are directly loaded by blast impulse (called primary members), are
supported by secondary structural elements, loads/impulses to be resisted by secondary
members should be determined from dynamic characteristics of primary members.

A7.2.3 Displacement limitations

a. Displacements under blast loading conditions defined in A5.2.2 and A5.2.3 and design
blast loads from QRA/CBA study shall be limited as follows:
1. Structural steel loaded principally in bending:
Xm £ 10 Xy
2. Reinforced concrete loading principally in bending:
Xm £ 5 Xy
3. Structural steel or reinforced concrete loaded principally in compression:
Xm £ Xy

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4. Reinforced concrete panel subjected to simultaneous bending and shear wall or deep
beam action:
Xm £ 1,5 Xy
b. If steel or reinforced concrete beam forms part of rigid beam, check shall be made of
column stability if plastic deformation of beam is possible.
In the cases in a., Xy is the effective displacement at which plastic deformation
begins for the equivalent bilinear (elastic-plastic) resistance deflection (R-x) curve
that has the same energy absorbing capacity as the actual R-x curve for a structural
member. (See Figure A1).
For slender columns, this will be the displacement at which buckling begins.

A7.2.4 Member rotations

Under blast loading condition defined in A5.2.4 or design blast load from blast risk
assessment/CBA study, reinforced concrete and steel member rotations shall not exceed 2
degrees.

A7.2.5 Rebound resistance

Required rebound resistance for structural element shall be taken as not less than 75% of
positive resistance of element.

A7.2.6 Dynamic shear

Dynamic shear reaction at end of flexural members should not be calculated using equation in
A7.2.2.
Refer to Biggs in 2 for the appropriate design methods.

A7.2.7 Section moment of inertia

For deflection calculation purposes, moment of inertia of section shall be taken as average of
inertia of gross concrete section and inertia of cracked section.

A7.2.8 Absolute displacements

Absolute displacements shall be calculated to ensure that secondary failure does not occur.
For example, internal equipment overturning due to wall displacement.

A7.2.9 Joint integrity

a. Integrity of joints under full displacement shall be checked.
b. It should be noted that frames subjected to blast loads and dead loads can have one joint
which remains elastic.

A8. Dynamic structural capacity

a. Ability of structural element to resist dynamic load shall be determined in accordance with
plastic design method for structural steel and ultimate strength method for reinforced
concrete.
b. Recommended methodology using British Standards is proposed in c. Contractor may
nominate equivalent method to alternative standards. This should be reviewed by BP prior
to implementation.
c. Requirements are defined by BS 8110 and BS 5950 respectively, except as follows:

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1. For structural steel - for steelwork designed to BS 5950, partial safety factor for
strength m shall be taken as 1,0.
2. For reinforced concrete:
a) Reinforcing steel - strength for dynamic considerations should be taken as 120%
of values in BS 8110.
b) Partial safety factor for strength (m) shall be taken as 1,0.
3. Concrete - strength for dynamic considerations shall be taken as the following
percentages of values in BS 8110:
a) Compression: 120%.
b) Shear expressed as diagonal tension: 100%.
c) Bond: 100%.
4. In case of shear wall and deep beam design, direct shear stress at support shall not
exceed 10% of design compression strength for concrete. Partial safety factor for
strength (m) shall be taken as 1,30.
5. Calculations - Three sets of calculations shall be provided to show that conditions of
loading (A6) are met by final design.

A9. Additional structural requirements

A9.1 Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete structures shall satisfy the following additional requirements:
a. Reinforced concrete members principally resisting bending shall be reinforced such that
area of main tension reinforcement expressed as percentage of gross cross sectional area is
not less than 0,25%.
b. Member should be equally reinforced on both internal and external face.
c. Concrete cube strength shall be Grade 30 or stronger or comply with national codes,
whichever is more stringent.

A9.2 Reinforcing bars

a. Reinforcing bars shall comply with BS 4449.
b. Main reinforcement shall be deformed type.
c. Reinforcing bars shall be as long as practical to reduce numbers of splices.
d. Splices shall be staggered if possible and located away from highly stressed areas.
e. Lap lengths shall not be less than 70 times bar diameter.

A9.3 Joints
a. Construction joints shall be minimised and surfaces properly prepared.
b. In the case of shear walls, additional care shall be taken to form keys, or epoxy resin
bonding agents may be used in horizontal joints.
c. Contraction/expansion joints shall be avoided if possible.

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A10. Foundation design

A10.1 Normal loads

Foundations shall be adequate to support normal loadings (A6) at normal safe ground pressures.

A10.2 Dynamic loads

a. Building displacement under dynamic loading shall be calculated. Acceptability criterion
shall be developed, depending on sensitivity of building to displacement.
b. If piles are required to resist lateral movements of structure under blast loading, batter piles
should be used. In determining pile requirements, passive resistance developed on
foundation walls and footing shall be taken into account.

A11. Additional design considerations

A11.1 General
a. The following points should be taken into account if designing/specifying non structural
building features. The objective is to ensure that these features perform in a safe manner
during a blast.
b. Building designer shall demonstrate that each of these features can either resist blast
without damage or fail in such a way that they do not increase risk to personnel or
equipment within or outside building.

A11.2 Location
Building location will be specified or shall be subject to BP approval in accordance with
GP 44-70.

A11.3 Orientation
If appropriate, orientation of building should be such that smallest area is presented to source of
hazard as defined.

A11.4 External doors

a. Doors in external blast resistant walls shall be kept to a minimum, consistent with escape
requirements.
b. Doors shall open outwards and butt, on all four edges, against steel frames fixed to
concrete.
c. Design and detailing of door and frame shall take account of dynamic rebound.
d. External doors shall be either:
1. Designed dynamically within plastic range with limited deflection of X m not
exceeding 20 Xy.
2. Designed to some lower loading in conjunction with blast attenuators.
e. Doors shall be designed to facilitate easy operation under normal conditions. Power
assistance may be employed for opening and closing of blast resistant external doors.

A11.5 Other openings

A11.5.1 General
Openings, e.g., for ventilating systems, shall be designed to prevent entry of debris into
personnel or equipment areas by location, provision of attenuators, or other means.

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A11.5.2 Blast valves

a. Entry of blast overpressure surges through openings may be limited by means of blast
valves or by attenuation through plenums.
b. Need for blast valves should be determined based on blast overpressure and nature of
building.
c. In general, blast valves should be fitted to buildings that are designed to resist
overpressures of 30 kN/m2 (627 lb/ft2) or greater.
d. Number and size of such openings shall be kept to a minimum.
It should be noted that there are a variety of blast valves available for different
duties (e.g., wall or roof entry, time of closure, and leakage rate). A performance
and testing specification should be developed to ensure the appropriate type of valve
is selected.

A11.6 Viewing facilities

a. Windows shall not normally be provided without BP approval.
b. Options for window glazing and framing systems for buildings subjected to blast fall into
two categories:
1. Window designed to resist blast with no damage.
2. Window designed to fail in safe manner (e.g., use of material, such as
polycarbonate/toughened glass, or provision of secondary containment, such as catch
bars).
c. Proposal to include windows in building subjected to blast shall demonstrate that
incremental risk due to provision of windows is acceptable.
It should be noted that option b.2. is unlikely to be acceptable for buildings within
the range of a flammable gas cloud due to the risk of a fireball entering the building
after the glazing has failed.

A11.7 Roof plant

a. Equipment shall not normally be located on or over main roof of building.
b. If equipment is sited on roof, its performance under blast loading shall be considered in
structural analysis to ensure it does not jeopardise integrity of building structure.
c. In addition, holding down arrangement and equipment itself shall be checked to ensure it is
robust under blast loading and will not cause missile hazard to personnel.

A11.8 Staffing levels

Number of personnel to be located in blast resistant control room shall be kept to a minimum,
consistent with safe operation of plant.

A11.9 Internal finishes

Internal finishes, particularly to interior face of external walls, shall be selected and installed to
minimise injury to personnel and damage to equipment in building, in event of external
explosion.

A11.10 Wall/ceiling mounted equipment

a. Equipment should not be mounted on or placed against interior face of external walls or
suspended from ceiling/roof.

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b. Distortion/movement of external walls/roof could cause equipment to break free from its
mountings and injure occupants/damage equipment.

A11.11 Internal partitions

a. Internal partitions shall be designed and installed to allow for potential movement of main
structure during explosion.
b. Partitions shall be constructed from materials that, in event of their failure, would
minimise, as far as possible, injury to personnel and damage to equipment.

A11.12 External features

a. External features, such as canopies (which could break free in a blast), shall not be
incorporated in building exposed to blast hazard.
b. Metal cladding panels, if used, shall be supported by building frame with fixing system
capable of resisting design blast.

A11.13 Services connections

Connections of building services shall be designed flexibly to avoid damage during
displacement under design blast load.

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Table A1 - Positive blast pressures and durations for various structural elements

Structural Load case

element A5.2.2 A5.2.3 A5.2.4
Walls Pr = 175 kN/m2 (1 264 lb/ft2) Pr = 30 kN/m2 (627 lb/ft2) Pr = 275 kN/m2 (5 743 lb/ft2)
to = 20 ms to = 100 ms to = 30 ms
Roof Slabs Po = 70 kN/m2 (3 655 lb/ft2) Po = 20 kN/m2 (418 lb/ft2) Po = 100 kN/m2 (2 088 lb/ft2)
to = 20 ms to = 100 ms to = 30 ms
Side Walls Horizontal shear reaction in Horizontal shear reaction in Horizontal shear reaction in
Designed to addition to: addition to: addition to:
Resist
Horizontal Po = 70 kN/m2 (3 655 lb/ft2) Po = 20 kN/m2 (418 lb/ft2) Po = 100 kN/m2 (2 088 lb/ft2)
Shear to = 20 ms to = 100 ms to = 30 ms
Notes:
Po = Peak Incident Overpressure
Pr = Peak reflected Overpressure
to = Positive blast phase duration

Table A2 - Average uniform loading for frames

Span of frame Peak pressure Duration

m ft kN/m2 lb/ft2 ms s
3 or less 9,8 or less 70 1 462 20 0,020
5 16,4 40 835 35 0,035
10 32,8 30 627 50 0,050
15 49,2 25 522 60 0,060
20 or greater 65,6 or greater 20 418 70 0,070

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Figure A1 - Resistance-deflection curve

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