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8392559 
Meetings & Symposia 
Structural performance of double skin façade systems (DSFS) subjected to blast pressures 
Ding, C; Ngo, T; Lumantarna, R; Mendis, P; Zobec, M 
2013 
CI-Premier Pte Ltd 
313-322 
English 
The main function of a building façade system is to provide protection to interior building spaces. In a blast event, façade components become the weakest parts of a building. The pressurised air may breach the façade system and cause injuries to occupants. There is increasing popularity in the use of double skin façade systems (DSFS) in modern façade construction due to their energy efficiency advantages. In addition to the improvement in energy performance, there is an increase in blast resistance capacity of DSFS. However, due to the complex structural interactions between DSFS and blast pressure waves, the standards specifying blast performances of DSFS are lacking. This paper reports an experimental program on analogical DSFS, which contains steel panels as opposed to glass panels, subject to 250 kg equivalent TNT charge weight at a stand-off distance of 52 m (250 kg @ 52 m). Three different DSFS compartments with varying ventilation areas were tested. Then, numerical analysis of DSFS structural responses were conducted based on the pressures recorded in the experiment. A comparative study of blast performance according to current standards and numerical analysis for glass panels were carried out. It is found that current standards for double glazed insulating glass (IG) units greatly overestimates the blast performance of DSFS by simplifying the load sharing factors. This paper further identifies the critical parameters of DSFS when assessing its responses when subjected to blast pressures. 
Blast pressures; Failure probability.; Load sharing