Performance Based Optimization Studies on Design of Fireworks Industrial Structures Using Taguchi Technique

摘要

Sivakasi town of Virudhunagar district, Tamilnadu in India is famous for the manufacture and supply of fire crackers and safety matches, meeting the International demand. The process of manufacturing of fire crackers is being carried out inside the traditional clay brick masonry structures of 230mm wall thickness without incorporating any explosion resisting features. Accidental explosions during the manufacturing process cause collapse of brick masonry structures leading to loss of human lives and infrastructure very often. Existing construction guidelines are inadequate to resist against failure/collapse of brick masonry structures in the event of such accidental explosions. Hence, an attempt is made to identify the optimum structure/configuration which can perform satisfactorily against such accidental explosions. Clay brick masonry model structures with flat, sloped and curved roofing with wall thickness 115mm, 150mm and 230mm, along with rectangular, square and hexagonal configurations were considered in this study. The input data are arrived at from the static and dynamic analysis conducted using ANSYS software on brick masonry models of various wall thicknesses and roofing configurations. Taguchi based optimization technique using Minitab software is used to arrive at the ideal model structure for fireworks industrial building showing satisfactory performance against the accidental explosive loading and the results presented.