Deflagration Load Generator Blast Load Testing of an ISO Shipping Container and Blast Resistant Wood Building

摘要

ISO shipping containers and other conventional portable buildings (such as wood-framed trailers) are widely used in petroleum refining and chemical processing facilities. Given that these structures may be subjected to blast loading in the event of an accidental explosion at these facilities (amongst other hazards), their location is typically subject to industry guidelines. In order to better predict the response of example portable buildings to blast loading, full-scale blast load tests were performed. Full-scale structural response tests were performed on an ISO shipping container and a blast resistant wood building (BRWB), both subject to blast loading. The blast loading applied to the test articles was generated with a Deflagration Load Generator (DLG) test rig. The DLG test rig can produce centrally-peaked blast waves that are representative of full-scale vapor cloud explosions (VCEs) in industrial settings. During a test, the DLG test rig is outfitted with congestion and filled with a near-stoichiometric fuel-air mixture which is ignited near the center of the rear wall. By controlling the congestion level and standoff distance between the test rig and the test article, the desired blast load on the target structure can be achieved. The ISO shipping container and BRWB were subjected to two tests with increasing overpressure and impulse. The first test had a target free-field blast overpressure of 2.0 psig (13.8 kPa), which was selected to cause an appreciably low level of damage to the structures. The damage observed in both structures following the first test was minor; however, significant displacement of internal items was observed. The second test was performed with a higher blast overpressure near 5.0 psig (34.5 kPa), in order to push the structures to a higher damage level to fully exercise their structural response. The damage observed in both structures following the second test was significant, including the generation of debris caused by rapid displacement of the internal items in both structures. This paper documents the testing performed, focuses on the response of the BRWB to the test blast loads, and also provides a comparison to standard single-degree-of-freedom structural component models, which are frequently used in the design and assessment of buildings that are subject to accidental blast loads.