Performance of Base-Isolated RC School Building under Blast Loading

It is known that bomb-laden vehicles target many buildings as a result of terrorist activities. The effects of such attacks must be reduced and structures must be protected against blast effects. In high seismic hazard regions, buildings are designed to be earthquake resistant. One of the methods used to dampen earthquake effects on structures is base isolation. Base isolation is effective in distributing blast loads to the structure, similar to seismic loading. In this study, the effects of this distribution on the structure will be evaluated. The scope of the study encompasses the numerical estimation of explosive loads at different distances according to the explosive material carrying capacity of various vehicles and their effects on structures. Linear and nonlinear analysis methods were used to compare the dynamic behaviour of school buildings designed with and without base isolators. The Turkish Building Earthquake Code (2018), which includes the maximum seismic loads, was used in the design of the isolators. Numerical analysis was performed using SAP2000 software based on the finite element method. The blast loads were applied to the floors of the building using the direct integration method in the time domain. FEMA standards were used to determine the blast loads and the performance was evaluated in comparison with the numerical analysis results. As a result of the study, it was concluded that structures with base isolators are efficient in reducing the effects of an explosion at certain distances and these distances will affect the design of the shelter walls.