Blast Mitigation Analysis and Design
Blast Analysis of Structures
Protect your facility and personnel against blast-related hazards.
- Explosion Modeling
- Flammable and Toxic Dispersion Modeling
- Protective Design
- Shelter-in-Place and Evacuation Assessments
Blast Analysis and Explosive Hazards
The ability to realistically assess blast-related hazards and provide effective mitigation strategies is crucial to a broad range of industries including, government entities, land use planning and oil, gas and chemical and manufacturing facilities.
At ABS Group, we have a global team of dedicated specialists who use advanced simulation tools to model the dynamic response of structures and equipment to blast overpressure, fragment impact and blast-generated debris. No matter the cause of the explosion, our experts can work to understand the realistic risk consequences and support your organization in finding the most effective mitigation strategies to suit its needs. We perform blast testing services to validate modeling methods or proof-test protective structures, windows and doors with our Shock Tube Testing facility based in San Antonio, TX.
Blast Mitigation Analysis and Design Services
We provide a range of services to support organizations in understanding the impacts of blast loading on structures and work collaboratively with clients to produce mitigation measures to help protect their facilities and personnel against blast-related hazards.
Understanding Catastrophic Risk
Beirut Explosion Podcast and Infographic
How have major industrial incidents, transportation accidents, terrorist attacks and natural disasters changed our understanding of risk? On this episode of our Risk Matters X.0 podcast, understand more about what we can learn from catastrophic incidents to improve awareness and better manage risks.
Our Capabilities
Protective Design
Using the built environment to protect your organization against both man-made and natural hazards is a crucial step in managing your risk. Our team of protective design engineers helps clients to understand vulnerabilities to buildings and other critical infrastructure for a range of hazards and how to implement rational cost-effective mitigation strategies.
Featured Services:
- Recommendations on implementation of physical hardening measures (perimeter protection, blast analysis and design, façade strengthening, disproportionate collapse mitigation, local hardening of security command centers and other critical areas)
- Security systems evaluation and design (intrusion detection, monitoring and surveillance, access control systems, security policies and procedures, redundancy evaluations, etc.)
- Evaluation of all hazards mitigation to include Natural Hazard analysis, design and construction management activities (seismic retrofit of buildings and structures, equipment bracing and anchoring)
- Dependency mitigation actions (emergency backup power, spare parts and supplies, cross-training of personnel, emergency response plan, business continuity plan, etc.)
- Finite Element Modeling
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Fragment Analysis
In the event of an explosion, fragment analysis can be used to predict fragment velocity and fragment damage/penetration to a target. After the initial velocity is determined, using empirical evidence and theoretical calculations, trajectory calculations determine the potential velocity and range at impact. Finally, penetration calculations can help determine the vulnerability of structures and equipment.
Our Approach
- Primary Fragments and Shrapnel from Munitions and Laboratory / Production Equipment
- TP-13 Analysis for Building Debris Throw
- Design of Barricades to Prevent Perforation by Hazardous Debris and Protect Personnel
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Shelter-In-Place and Evacuation Assessments
Emergency response planning may direct personnel in some buildings to shelter-in-place (SIP) during a toxic/flammable release. To qualify candidate buildings as shelter-in-place, it is crucial that you perform sufficient modeling and testing to fully understand the baseline risk. ABS Group uses the following three (3) stage approach to provide our clients the answers to these questions:
- Perform gas dispersion modeling to determine the toxic/flammable environment outside the building
- Assess the leakiness of the building through testing to identify major leakage sources
- Perform infiltration calculations to determine the duration the building can be used to SIP
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Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection
With threat levels around the world remaining significant, protecting your organization against terror events is becoming increasingly important. Our physical security consultants can support the oil, gas and chemical sectors, government entities and other organizations to understand the minimum physical security standards for their threat level.
Featured Services:
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Window Blast Assessments
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Vehicle Barrier Design
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Progressive Collapse Studies
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Modeling and Simulation Services
ABS Group offers a range of explosion, thermal and dispersion modeling and simulation services to provide clients with a clear visualization of the extent of cloud reach. From Vapor Cloud Explosions (VCE), Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVEs), pressure vessel ruptures and other energetic events to thermal radiation contours and blast contour loading on structures, ABS Group has deep experience modeling explosions, performing explosion testing and investigating explosion accidents.
Our experts perform dispersion modeling using both simplified (PHAST) and CFD (FLACS) methods. Dispersion modeling is used to visualize the flammable cloud extents for flash fire or vapor cloud explosion consequences should the cloud reach congested regions.
Featured Services:
- Empirical Blast Models
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
- Blast Contours and Loads on Buildings
- API Recommended Practice 752 (API RP 752), Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Permanent Buildings
- API RP 753 Portable Building Siting Map
- API RP 756 Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Tents
- Propellant Burn Modeling
- Thermal Radiation Contours
- Thermal Propagation Throughout the Facility (Down Corridors, Under Doors, Across Vestibules)
- Scenario Development
- Dispersion Modeling and Extent of Hazardous Clouds
- Gaussian and Computational Fluid Dynamics Models
- Personnel Vulnerability During Evacuation
- Toxic Cloud Cross-wind Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place Building Infiltration Over Time
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Blast Chamber Design
We consider computational blast and structural modeling capabilities integral to the analysis and design of explosion containment chambers. We have also performed explosion testing to assess the blast capacity of chambers
Featured Capabilities:
- Structural Shell Design
- Detailing
- Doors
- Vent systems
- Penetrations
- Reusable Chambers (Elastic Design)
- One-Time Use Chambers (Plastic Design)
- Testing in Support of Design
- Final Commissioning/Proof Testing
- Pressure containment assessment
- External blast leakage measurement
- WMD simulation testing
- Measurement Capability
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Risk Based Assessments
ABS Group uses Quantitative Risk Assessments and numerical modeling methods to identify and correctly quantify the consequences of energetic events to give our clients a correct understanding of the exposures to their personnel and property.
Featured Services:
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Blast Load Prediction
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Explosive Safety and Quantity Distance (ESQD) Assessments
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Critical Asset Vulnerability Modelin
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Facility Siting Structural Remediation Design
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Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection Assessments
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Threat Vulnerability and Risk Modeling
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Terrorism Risk Projections
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Blast Effects Testing
ABS Group provides explosion testing services to support a variety of programs for commercial and defense related clients. These services include structural testing, testing in support of product development and test programs in support of R&D activities. We have developed and operate one of the largest shock tube test facilities in the world.
Featured Capabilities:
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Shock tube testing
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Live explosives range testing
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Small and large-scale testing
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Research and Development
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Window/glazing performance testing (ASTM/GSA/EN)
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Blast-resistant doors (PIP)
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Blast-rated glazed curtain wall systems
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Prototypes of wall upgrade systems
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Blast containment chamber proof testing (MIL-STD 398)
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Blast-resistant modular buildings
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Instrumentation systems including high-speed data recording systems, pressure recording, thermal recording and high-speed video recording
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Third-party witness and test evaluation
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Related Services
Physical Security Risk Management
By combining engineering and security expertise with a comprehensive understanding of both regulatory requirements and the industries we serve, our team has helped clients control security risks while at the same time reducing operations and maintenance costs. Solutions include:
- Engineering-based physical SVAs
- Mitigation measures development
- Force-on-force exercise support
- Emergency response planning
Facility Siting Services
Over the years, as industries needed to evaluate the potential impact of explosion, fire and toxic hazards to occupied buildings, ABS Group developed and expanded facility siting services to such a degree they’ve had an impact on industry recommended practices, even affecting EPA and OSHA regulations. Our full service solution includes, among others:
- Flammable dispersion modeling
- Explosion modeling
- Building damage assessment
- Prediction of hazards to building occupants