Blast mitigation of a concrete arch bridge using composites

Blast mitigation has recently become a critical need for public infrastructure because the probability of explosions is no longer linked to accidental reasons only. In the spring of 2005, an international project regarding blast mitigation started under the coordination of the University of Missouri - Rolla and the participation of the University of Naples “Federico II” and two Italian firms, ANAS, owner of the Italian highway network, and AMRA, a research center of excellence. The objective of the project was to investigate a real structure under blast loading conditions; the team had the opportunity to study and test to collapse a recently dismissed long-span reinforced concrete arch bridge in southern Italy. The first phase of the project has been focused on a detailed structural analysis of the bridge performed via a finite element modeling of the structure anticipated by static/dynamic materials characterization. The conducted numerical modal analysis was validated by in-situ vibrodyne tests. This allowed the calibration of the model later used for blast loading analysis. At this time, two mitigation techniques using composites have been proposed to protect the piers of the bridge. These solutions will be modeled and tested on the structure under blast loads.