Inhabited Building Distance Criteria and Modern Construction

摘要

The Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB) publishes and maintains criteria and defines separation distances between explosive sources and various target or receiver facilities. The current Inhabited Building Distance (IBD) criteria as defined by DoD 6055.9-STD is based predominately on observations, experimental work, and opinion during the period 1945 through 1969. During the last 20 years, great advances have been made in our knowledge and understanding of blast effects phenomena. During the same period, design and construction technology have changed significantly. Modern residential and commercial structures are much lighter and more flexible than the structures on which present IBD criteria are based. In this paper, the development of IBD criteria is reviewed, and its applicability to modern construction is evaluated. Particular attention is paid to an evaluation of probable damage and risk to modern residential structures and lightweight commercial structures, such as pre-engineered buildings, sited at IBD distances. The research and analysis provided in this report can be summarized as follows. First, a large percentage of modern residential, commercial, and public construction will suffer damage substantially in excess of the 5 percent criteria postulated in the current I&D standard. Second, associated with that increased damage will be a greater risk of personnel injury. These conclusions are particularly applicable to quantities of explosives in excess of 30,000 pounds.