June 03, 2011
Attacking the Problem from Every Angle: Shear Sliding
by Matt Nebel
Often times, renovation plans are overburdened by design efforts to satisfy client and stakeholder driven goals alongside codified building system performance requirements. The addition of blast services to a seemingly overloaded project scope can easily feel like trying to force a filled to capacity suitcase shut. Consequently, blast design professionals must bring a unique skill set to the table to address protection needs without conflicting with other project design and budget goals.
May 11, 2011
The Dream Killer
by Nick Oberts
Tight budgets, short schedules, even the laws of physics work to conspire against the dreams that are borne out of the very human drive to create magnificent buildings. Often, as the blast consultant, we are lumped within that list of obstacles. In fact, a client once referred to us, jokingly, as “dream killers”. While the comment was light hearted, it was a motivation for us to look for opportunities to shed that disclaimer and join the rest of the design team as dream weavers, contributing to the promise of the built environment.
March 17, 2011
Tilt that Sucker Up!
by Kevin Anderson
Use of tilt-up reinforced concrete panels has proven to be very efficient when applied to… structures whose design is dictated by functionality and constructability and [often] discounted when aesthetic design needs are more profound. However, recent trends in the architecture and engineering world are beginning to encourage a wider use of tilt-up construction as a result of aesthetic improvements of this building system. Specifically, Hinman has noticed recent trends related to new federal building projects to explore the level of blast protection offered by tilt-up walls.
February 24, 2011
Innovation in Motion: Cable Catchment Systems
by Seda Dogruel
Preservation of exterior window systems is an important aesthetic consideration when renovating historic buildings. The need to improve the protective quality of this component of the building envelope while maintaining the existing façade expression presents both challenges and opportunities to apply innovative threat mitigation technologies. In exploring various window retrofit options, blast engineers must balance the demands of likely threat scenarios against a variety of other design objectives pertaining to cost, energy performance, window operability and constructability. The final result is, ultimately, a system that is a threat mitigation solution uniquely tuned to meet project specific goals and preserve the identity of the historic structure.
February 19, 2011
Design Innovations Needed for Disaster Protection
by Eve Hinman
A quarter of a century ago when I started in the field of protective design of civilian buildings, a series of simplifying assumptions were made to enable engineers to effectively respond to this new need. When infused with engineering judgment, the results of these analyses could be used to effectively reduce the vulnerability of high risk buildings without unreasonable cost or aesthetic impact.
Today, our understanding of the true threat that our infrastructure faces is considerably more sophisticated and not aligned well with the basic assumptions originally made. These threats include not only terrorist attack, but natural hazards and accidents as well.
February 19, 2011
GreenBlast : Protect the Built & Natural Environments
by Caroline Field
Two of the biggest challenges facing the world today are Global Warming and Terrorism. Ironically, the more we deplete our natural resources, the more we will need to protect what we have left. Is this inevitable? What small part can we, as blast consultants play in derailing this path?
