The demolition of a building by explosives-induced rapid collapse is a design problem which admits many solutions. Which arrangement is the best? When addressing such a problem, it is useful to have a numerical model of the process, which can be run repeatedly with different settings, allowing design alternatives to be explored. The paper introduces one such numerical tool, which is compact, and therefore inexpensive to run. The building is divided into blocks bounded by the blast storeys. The model performs a time-integration of the equations of motion in two dimensions, using two degrees of freedom per moving block. The elements blasted-out storeys are removed at the timed delays. The remaining elements in the blast storeys are given elastic properties at first, then plastic properties, and finally fracture behaviour after a set amount of a strain. The main output from the program is the displacement time-histories of the collapsing parts, which leads to an understanding of the kinematics of their collision. The model has been extended by adding a transverse shear plane. A version of the software is available for download from the site www.structural-r-d.co.uk.
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