Precast concrete provides excellent Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) and blast resistance, among many other high performance attributes. It has been used in many military, government, and other structures providing protection and resiliency.

Blast testing of precast insulated sandwich wall panels by the Air Force Research Laboratory in Panama City, Fla. show that precast meets the limits as defined by US Army Corp PDC-TR 06-08 Single Degree of Freedom Structural Response Limits for Anti-terrorism Design.

A brief overview of blast design was developed by the Blast Resistance and Structural Integrity Committee as Appendix A for the 8th Edition of the PCI Handbook. This overview was published in the Winter 2014 issue of the PCI Journal, and focuses on the design of precast concrete building components to resist blast loads, with a primary focus on exterior explosive blasts. For more in depth design guidance please refer to the PCI Blast Design Manual (MNL-141) that can be purchased at the PCI Online Bookstore.

Reports from the Air Force Research Laboratory

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Experiments -- Series 1 (Volume I)

Air Force Research Laboratory Report, AFRL-RX-TY-TR-2008-4616, November 2008
Authors: Naito, Clay J.; Dinan, Robert J.; Fisher, Jeff W.; Hoemann, John M.

The information presented in this report represents the first phase of work under Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) # 05-119-ML-01, entitled Blast Resistant Concrete Products. The overall research objective is to assess the inherent blast resistance of conventional concrete products.

Evaluation of Shear Tie Connectors for Use in Insulated Concrete Sandwich Panels

Air Force Research Laboratory Report, AFRL-RX-TY-TR-2009-4600, December 2009
Authors: Naito, Clay J.; Hoemann, John M.; Bewick, Bryan T.; Hammons, Michael I.

This study evaluated the performance of shear ties to understand the failure modes of sandwich wall panels conducted on the performance of shear ties. This report provides an in-depth examination of the shearing force - deformation characteristics of ties commonly used in the United States.

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Experiments Performance on Non-Load Bearing Sandwich Wall Panels

Air Force Research Laboratory Report, AFRL-RX-TY-TR-2011-0021, January 2011
Authors: Naito, Clay J.; Hoemann, John M.; Shull, Jonathon S.; Saucier, Aaron; Salim, Hani A.; Bewick, Bryan T.; Hammons, Michael I.

This report presents the static performance of the wall systems subjected to pseudo-blast pressures. The results indicate that sandwich wall systems provide blast resistance over a large deformation range making these systems useful for ATFP applications. The responses of the panels were found to be sensitive to reinforcement type, shear ties used, and insulation.