Niall F Macalevey

Design of Reinforced Concrete Buildings to Resist Blast Niall F Macalevey

Publisher Marketing: Terrorism has become a serious threat in the world. This threat cannot be ignored. The main terrorist weapon is a bomb made from high explosives, with civilian buildings being a common target. Terrorists usually want to create chaos and maximize casualties. A growing emphasis is therefore being placed on anti-terrorism protection of civilian buildings. It is recognized that iconic structures as well as structures where mass congregation is likely, may be 'soft targets' for attack. Thus blast provisions are now an integral part of the design of major civilian facilities, e.g. hospitals, large hotels, shopping centres, stadia etc. In addition, buildings housing critical infrastructure, e.g., electrical sub-stations, are other likely targets. This book is about the effects of blast on civilian, rather than military, structures. The latest forms of structural and glazing protection are discussed. In practical design, extensive use of software is usually made. However, this book covers design principles. Hand-calculations are emphasized so that a "feel" for the likely behaviour of the structure under blast loading is obtained. Although the book is directly concerned with only RC buildings, the principles can easily be extended to structural steel buildings. Contributor Bio:  Macalevey, Niall F Dr. Niall MacAlevey is currently an independent consultant specializing in the analysis and design of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures, forensic engineering and the strengthening of concrete structures. He is the founder of the firm "Shamrock Consultants," and is a registered Professional Engineer in Singapore. He graduated from University College Dublin, Ireland in 1987, and completed his M. Sc. degree in "Concrete Structures" at Imperial College, London. He completed his Ph. D degree at the Nanyang Technological University in 1997 on "The Strengthening of Concrete Structures" and later joined the academic staff there. He obtained a PGDipTHE (Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching in Higher Education) from the National Institute of Education in 2001. He has worked for a number of consulting engineering firms and specialist prestressing subcontractors in London, Cambridge, Hong Kong and Singapore.