Masonry-Infilled RC Frames Exposed to Blast Loads: A Review on Numerical Modeling and Response

The spun in terrorist activities worldwide has drawn the attention of engineers and researchers to the vulnerability of building structures to blast loads. Response of masonry-infilled reinforced concrete (RC) frames subjected to blast loads is a widely researched area that still poses considerable complexity and challenges. Most of the works are based on finite element (FE) methodology to simulate the blast-induced behavior of the masonry-infilled RC structures considering the material constitutive and interaction aspects. Many literature studies have focused on FE codes for numerical modeling of masonry-infilled RC frames and interpretation of their response to various blast load scenarios (far-field, near, and contact blasts). The review presented herein addresses the aspects to include: Estimation of the blast load parameters, including the code provision and its simulation in the analysis module; updated knowledge on geometric and material modeling; effect of strain rate on constitutive parameters while modeling the materials; macro, micro, and simplified micro approaches to model masonry infill walls and their response under blast loading; modeling of interaction between RC frame and masonry infills and the performance of the integral and nonintegral system under blast loading. It is envisaged that such studies, in turn, would facilitate evolving the rational design methodologies for the blast-resistant design of framed structures. At the end of this paper, some parametric studies of field interest that are carried out in the literature are reported to understand the behavior of masonry-infilled RC frames against blast loads and derived some valuable conclusions. The review presented in this study provides a thematic analysis of the available literature aimed to assist the analyst in selecting a suitable tool for investigating masonry-infilled RC frames exposed to blast loads. (C) 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.