Calculation of blast loads for design against terrorism

With the threat of terrorism an ever-growing concern in the design of buildings, it is becoming more important that designers are able to understand the nature of bomb blast loading and how it can be derived. This paper provides a critical assessment of the modelling approaches available by outlining the key advantages and disadvantages and indicating the limits of applicability of each. Three basic approaches that may be adopted for the prediction of blast loads are available: empirical, semi-empirical (phenomenological) and computational. The intention of this paper is not to provide in-depth knowledge of the theoretical basis but to provide a pragmatic understanding of the tools available to designers so they can assess the problem in hand and select the appropriate methods for use in design.