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Dynamic response of pipe rack steel structures to explosion loads

When performing dynamic explosion analyses on steel pipe racks, a common simplified method is to apply the static load multiplied by a fixed dynamic amplification factor (DAF). By adapting this amplification, a static analysis is sufficient to account for both static and dynamic behaviour in design. Consequently, all structures independent of stiffness and mass properties are provided with the same degree of dynamic amplification which can produce a high level of conservatism in their design. The objective of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the dynamic behaviour of pipe rack steel structures subjected to explosion loading. By achieving this, the aim is to provide structural engineers with knowledge leading to a more accurate design in future projects. To accomplish this, finite element analyses of three pipe racks have been performed and their respective DAFs have been calculated. The results show that DAFs vary between the structures, which indicate that the dynamic behaviour depends on one or several parameters. In addition, the results indicate that the magnitude of the DAF is dependent on what the selected inputs to calculate the DAF are. However, as no obvious affinity between the parameters of the structures and the dynamic amplification is observed, a parametric study was required to increase the understanding of how different parameters affect the DAF. The results from the parametric study show the same variation of the DAF as in the analyses of the first three pipe racks. The results even reveal DAFs higher than the DAFs currently used in design procedures. Moreover, the results show that the mass distribution has a significant influence on the dynamic behaviour. In addition, the results indicate that the DAF currently utilized in design is non-conservative. However, the rather large scatter of the results implies that further studies are desired.