Comparison of the Behavior of Concrete and Composite Columns with the Same Mechanical Characteristics under Blast Load

Momeni, Mohammad; Aghajanian, Saeed; Moayyedi, Mohaddeseh Zahra; Mirassi, Sohrab

doi:10.22075/jme.2025.33575.2639

Comparison of the Behavior of Concrete and Composite Columns with the Same Mechanical Characteristics under Blast Load

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohammad Momeni ¹

Saeed Aghajanian ²

Mohaddeseh Zahra Moayyedi ³

Sohrab Mirassi ⁴

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Fasa University, Fasa, Iran

² Department of Technology and Engineering, Shahid Ashrafi University of Isfahani, Isfahan, Iran.

³ Department of Technology and Engineering, Shahid Ashrafi University of Isfahani, Isfahan, Iran

⁴ Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Ira

10.22075/jme.2025.33575.2639

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the behavior of concrete and composite columns subjected to blast loading through finite element analysis, validated against experiments adopted from the literature. To this end, after validating the finite element model, the behavior of two concrete columns with square and circular sections, and a composite column with a circular section with the same mechanical characteristics was investigated under the effect of blast loading. The results indicate that the greatest damage typically occurs near the columns' supports, with square sections showing higher vulnerability compared to circular sections. Introducing composite column can reduce this damage by approximately 59%, while also effectively decreasing maximum displacement and bending moment by up to 55%. Additionally, a parametric analysis was conducted to identify influential parameters on composite column behavior. The analysis suggests that selecting concrete with a compressive strength of 40 MPa represents an optimal choice for minimizing damage in the investigated columns, as further increases in concrete strength yield marginal benefits in terms of column damage and displacement.

Keywords

Blast load

Composite column

Concrete column

Finite element method

Damage

Subjects