Effect of Window Sizes and Glazing Panel Aspect Ratios on Mitigating the Injuries from Flying Glass due to Air Blast

摘要

When subjected to an air blast, conventional window glasses of different sizes break into numerous flying shards which account for most injuries ranging from minor cuts to severe wounds and in many cases to death. A successful blast-resistant glazing design considers the principles of reasonable degree of protection against explosive threats based on the proposed level of security and previous lessons learned. It also requires balancing of the safety and security of the window panels with physical appearance and cost-effectiveness. In an air blast event, reducing the injuries from flying glass and protecting the occupants shall always remain a top design priority. For such, having more accurate glazing models is inevitable and thus, it is necessary to have a better understanding of the glass panel responses to different window parameters and blast load characteristics. For this purpose, we have modeled conventional annealed glass window panels of different sizes using explicit finite element analysis. The results show that the response of the window panels to different blast loadings is highly dependent upon the window pane sizes. Therefore, we have studied the window size effects and panel aspect ratios on window fragmentation patterns using brittle failure theories and crack propagation micromechanics of structural glazing subjected to air blast. These results will help developing a more comprehensive flying glass injury model that eventually enables the decision makers to bring the appropriate structural, architectural and building perimeter choices to better address the threats facing the safety of the residents during an air blast.