Simple lessons relearnt: Bomb blast performance of glazed façades

David Cormie, MEng(Hons) CEng CEnv MICE MIStructE & Ryan A. M. Sukhram, BEng(Hons) CEnv MCIOB MSyI, Arup Security Consulting

The major cause of injuries to building occupants and of internal disruption to office space arises from breaching of the external building envelope. In cases where the façade is glazed, occupants may be exposed to lacerative injuries from the inward throw at high velocity of monolithic annealed glass, in addition to exposure from hazards arising from primary blast pressures. It is essential to understand the protective benefits to occupants that can be achieved by suitably engineered glazed façades and it is important to appreciate the limitations of glazing for blast hazard mitigation. In the context of this paper, the term glazing refers to glass, rebate into support framing, the supporting frame itself and fixings of the frame into the building structure. This paper considers the performance of glazed façades subjected to highly intense short duration transient loads. Advice from a suitably experienced and qualified consultant should be sought when engineering the glazed façade of a building against an external bomb blast.

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