In today's world, reasonably predictable military operations have been replaced by low intensity conflicts-less predictable terrorist activities carried out by determined individuals or small groups that possess a wide range of backgrounds and capabilities. Because of the threats posed by this evolving type of warfare, civil engineers and emergency

Unique single reference supports functional and cost-efficient designs of blast resistant buildings Now there's a single reference to which architects, designers, and engineers can turn for guidance on all the key elements of the design of blast resistant buildings that satisfy the new ASCE Standard for Blast Protection of Buildings as well as other ASCE, ACI, and AISC codes. The Handbook for Blast Resistant Design of Buildings features contributions from some of the most knowledgeable and experienced consultants and researchers in blast resistant design. This handbook is organized into four parts: Part 1, Design Considerations, sets forth basic principles, examining general considerations in the design process; risk analysis and reduction; criteria for acceptable performance; materials performance under the extraordinary blast environment; and performance verification for technologies and solution methodologies. Part 2, Blast Phenomena and Loading, describes the explosion environment, loading functions needed for blast response analysis, and fragmentation and associated methods for effects analysis. Part 3, System Analysis and Design, explains the analysis and design considerations for structural, building envelope, component space, site perimeter, and building system designs. Part 4, Blast Resistant Detailing, addresses the use of concrete, steel, and masonry in new designs as well as retrofitting existing structures. As the demand for blast resistant buildings continues to grow, readers can turn to the Handbook for Blast Resistant Design of Buildings, a unique single source of information, to support competent, functional, and cost-efficient designs.

Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans and surrounding areas in August 2005, ranks as one of the nation's most devastating natural disasters. Shortly after the storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established a task force to assess the performance of the levees, floodwalls, and other structures comprising the area's hurricane protection system during Hurricane Katrina. This book provides an independent review of the task force's final draft report and identifies key lessons from the Katrina experience and their implications for future hurricane preparedness and planning in the region.

Recent decades have seen an increase in the number of terrorist attacks, necessitating the development of more efficient global security policies. One of the most important elements of this enhanced security is the protection of critical infrastructure. This book presents edited contributions from the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) on Critical Infrastructure Protection - Best Practices and Innovative Methods of Protection, held in Agadir, Morocco, from 6 to 12 May 2018. The main objective of the course was to bring together specialists working in the area of protecting critical infrastructure in NATO Member and Partner countries to share their knowledge and expertise. One lecture block was dedicated to important legal aspects, as these differ from country to country. The other main topic areas included the structural design and protection of critical infrastructure, new materials and material analysis, and material and construction testing at elevated impact velocities via experiment and numerical simulation. New designs for critical infrastructure elements were also demonstrated. The course provided an ideal forum for speakers and participants from government, academia, and military bodies to exchange information and best practice, while at the same time creating links to foster further collaboration and the exchange of ideas about the protection of critical infrastructure, and the book will be of interest to all those whose work involves protecting critical infrastructure from the threat of terrorist attack.

Since the notorious terrorist attack of the World Trade Center in 2001, researchers and engineers have been forced to review the existing research works and standards in resisting the progressive collapse of structures. From then on, the design of structure against progressive collapse has tended toward quantitative design, rather than qualitative design. The collapse of the COVID-19 epidemic isolation hotel in Quanzhou, China, in 2020 and the vertical collapse of a 12-story apartment in Florida, United States, in 2021 have aroused an upsurge of the research on progressive collapse. More experimental and theoretical works have been focused on this area. This book addresses this issue and provides a valuable reference for the progressive collapse analysis and design of building structures. - Reviews latest references systematically in terms of experiments, simulation, and theory - Introduces different test equipment used in the tests of progressive collapse and also modeling techniques used in the numerical studies of progressive collapse - Includes performance prediction theories used in the analysis of progressive collapse - Comprises considerable information on the tests and simulation and theoretical studies collected from the authors' research in the last 10 years

Damage to critical energy infrastructure as a result of terrorism, criminal activity or natural disaster can have a significant impact at both a national and international level. Reducing the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to protect populations is therefore a high priority for governments worldwide, and high-quality training courses and advanced technologies are imperative in this regard. This book presents edited contributions from the NATO Advanced Training Course (ATC) entitled ‘Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection: Innovative Structures and Materials for Blast and Ballistic Protection’, held as a virtual event from 22 - 25 March 2021. The principal aim of the course was to gather specialists from NATO member and partner countries interested in protecting their critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks, and to share research and practical experience in this field. The meeting provided a forum for participants and speakers to disseminate their recent work, and also served to promote the exchange of ideas and international cooperation among scientists and engineers. The focus was on the physical protection of critical infrastructure in the face of certain types of intentional threat or accident, such as explosions, impacts and blast waves, and the experts shared their experience on topics including the mitigation of risks, classification of vulnerabilities, improvement of resilience, advanced protective materials, dynamic testing of materials and structures, simulations, and numerical prediction methods. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves protecting critical infrastructure from the threat of terrorist attacks.