Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering

Journal of Structural and Construction Engineering

Economic comparison of LRFD design with functional design in the design of short-rise reinforced concrete flexural frames under explosive loadinge

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Pouya Hassanvand 1
Sajjad Mohammadian Abi 2
Mojtaba Hosseini 3
1 Assistant professor, Department of civil engineering, Ayatollah Boroujerdi university, Boroujerd, Iran
2 Ph.D, Department of civil engineering, Islamic Azad University science and research Branch, Tehran, Iran
3 Professor, Department of civil engineering, Lorestan university, khoramabad, Iran
10.22065/jsce.2025.529656.3758
Abstract
Given the high costs associated with the construction and operation of a structure, economics plays a crucial role in structural design. A proper design, in addition to meeting building requirements and regulations, must also be optimized from an economic standpoint. In designing structures to withstand explosions, there is no method analogous to using a behavior factor, and the existing behavior factor for seismic design does not apply to the behavior of structures against explosions. This research compares LRFD design and performance-based design in two 2-story reinforced concrete frames with reinforced concrete shear walls subjected to two explosions: 1 ton of TNT at a distance of 20 meters and 10 tons of TNT at a distance of 30 meters from the structure. Initially, two samples of combined moment frame and reinforced concrete shear wall systems under two surface explosion loading conditions (explosive load combination according to the sixth chapter of the National Building Regulations) have been designed using the LRFD method through linear dynamic analyses. Subsequently, the resulting designs have been analyzed against the aforementioned load combination using non-linear dynamic analysis, and the performance levels provided by these structures have been evaluated. In the next step, the mentioned models have been designed using the performance-based design method to achieve three performance levels: Immediate Occupancy, Life Safety, and Collapse Prevention. The results indicate a significant difference between the weight of materials used in the designs resulting from the LRFD method and those designed for IO, LS, and CP performance levels. This difference in the 30-ton TNT explosion in frames with shear walls in the side spans is 10, 41, and 48 percent, respectively, while in the shear wall model in the middle span, it is 7, 54, and 60 percent, respectively.
Keywords
Explosion
LRFD
Performance-based
Design Economic
Design Performance Levels

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 24 June 2025
  • Revise Date 31 August 2025
  • Accept Date 17 September 2025