Resources

We use and maintain state-of-the-art tools to support our design and research activities. We develop tools where required and where none exist. Some of our software development work has resulted in industry standard design tools such as SBEDS; currently funded and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers Protective Design Center at Omaha. Project specific applications are routinely developed to support your needs; and those tools belong to you as they support your needs and products.

  • PEC Test Laboratory and Shop Space

    PEC Test Laboratory and Shop Space

    PEC Test Laboratory and Shop Space

    PEC Test Laboratory and Shop Space

    We maintain field deployable high speed data and image acquisition capabilities at our Austin location. Much of our specialty routines are written in National Instrument?s LabVIEW software. We also have laboratory scale fabrication and machining capabilities. Much of that capability was originally developed to support our water tank based glass test facility located in Austin. In that 'tank,' we are able to perform glass fracture tests of various glass and plastic, including large deformation interlayer and polymer or PET retrofit tests. Much of the work done at the glass test facility has supported the incorporation of the Glass Failure Prediction Model, a statistical glass fracture model much better at handling size and rate effects, into new versions of SBEDS.

  • Off-site Test Facilities

    Off-site Test Facilities

    Numerical analysis and subscale testing can move us well along in the understanding of complex dynamic and inelastic/nonlinear behavior of materials. But often the best calibration of a series of numerical 'tests' or laboratory scale investigations is a full scale explosive test, impact test or dynamic experiment. We partner with several organizations to conduct these programs, typically involving significant requirements in terms of real estate and supporting equipment and facilities. We routinely work with colleagues at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio for support for explosive and ballistic tests, either at their on-campus facilities or at remote explosive test ranges. ABS provides shock tube testing facilities both in support of project work and in support of the ?hands on? sections of our short courses. The University of Texas at Austin, and the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory on the JJ Pickle campus has been an invaluable colleague in support of progressive collapse research, first responder structural shoring studies and fabrication and testing in support of full scale highway bridge pier tests.

  • SBEDS

    Single-Degree-of-Freedom Blast Effects Design Spreadsheets

    SBEDS

    Single-Degree-of-Freedom Blast Effects Design Spreadsheets

    SBEDS (Single-Degree-of-Freedom Blast Effects Design Spreadsheets) is an Excel-based tool for design of structural components subjected to airblast using single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) methodology. SBEDS enables the user to choose from 11 common structural components, enter readily available parameters related to material properties and geometry, and directly enter the SDOF properties or allow the workbook to calculate them. Masonry, reinforced concrete, steel, cold-formed metal and wood components are included.

    Various support conditions can be selected and either uniformly distributed or concentrated loadings can be modeled. A flexure resistance function is used with compression membrane and/or tension membrane contributions where applicable. P-delta effects on components subject to axial load can also be modeled. SBEDS follows the guidance contained in Army TM 5-1300, “Structures to Resist the Effects of Accidental Explosions”, and Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 3-340-01 (FOUO), “Design And Analysis Of Hardened Structures to Conventional Weapons Effects,” as applicable.

    SBEDS has been developed by Protection Engineering Consultants senior principal Chuck Oswald and is distributed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

  • CEDAW

    Component Explosive Damage Assessment Workbook

    CEDAW

    Component Explosive Damage Assessment Workbook

    CEDAW V1.0 (Component Explosive Damage Assessment Workbook), developed by Protection Engineering Consultants senior principal Chuck Oswald, is an Excel workbook that generates pressure-impulse (P-i) diagrams and charge weight-standoff (CW-S) diagrams defining blast loads causing each of five different blast damage levels to an input structural component. The P-i and CW-S diagrams in CEDAW are generated by “unscaling” scaled P-i curves that were based on a detailed study of applicable blast load scaling terms for each component type and over 500 blast tests of structural components. The scaled P-i curves are consistent with both blast damage from the tests and single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) analyses results. CEDAW contains P-i diagrams for eleven different common structural component types. The CEDAW P-i diagrams are intended to replace the FACEDAP P-i diagrams from the late 1980s based on additional blast test data, better P-i curve scaling terms, and their consistency with SDOF analysis results.

  • BICADS

    Building Injury Calculator And DatabaseS

    BICADS

    Building Injury Calculator And DatabaseS

    The BICADS V1.0 (Building Injury Calculator And DatabaseS) computer program, developed by Protection Engineering Consultants senior principal Chuck Oswald, calculates the percentages of occupants of blast-loaded buildings with each of four different injury levels based on user input defining basic building construction parameters, the percentage of building occupants in perimeter or interior space, and the blast source. The program calculates the percentages of building occupants with each injury level on each floor panel in the building from any failed surrounding building components, including windows and interior non-structural components, and from progressive building collapse, then sums over the floor panels to get the total building injury statistics. The fast-running program is an approximate methodology that was developed based on injury data from terrorist bombings, accidental explosions, and explosive tests; simple engineering models; and engineering judgment. It is compared to available injury databases in a methodology report distributed with the program.

  • ConWep

    Conventional Weapons Effects

    ConWep

    Conventional Weapons Effects

    ConWep V2.1 calculates a range of blast effects from different types of high explosives and weapons, including blast loads, fragment penetration depths into concrete and steel, concrete wall breaching, projectile penetration into rock and soil, cratering, and ground shock. Airblast calculations include free-field and reflected blast pressure histories from free-air and surface burst explosions, average peak pressure and impulse from a hemispherical surface burst on a specified reflected wall area, peak pressure from a buried explosion, blast pressure in tunnels, and quasistatic pressure history from a vented internal explosion. ConWep is made available through the Corps of Engineer’s Protective Design Center at Omaha, Nebraska.

  • HAZL

    Window Fragment Hazard Level Analysis

    HAZL

    Window Fragment Hazard Level Analysis

    HAZL performs a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) analysis to calculate glass response to a blast loading and provides a debris transport model for predicting fragment trajectory. The program allows modeling of monolithic glass or plastic windows, laminated windows, insulated glass units and windows retrofitted with anti-shatter film. The user inputs window geometry, glazing type, material and thickness, and blast load. With the addition of SFOM and MHGP models, HAZL can predict a hazard rating based on injury severity given a window description, blast parameters and the orientation of a person relative to the window. The models compute the propagation of glass shards, determine which shards would impact the person, and calculate the injury those shard penetrations would cause. A help file is included.

  • BLASTX

    BLASTX

    BLASTX is a computer program that calculates internal blast pressure histories in single and multi-room buildings considering a wide range of building geometries. The calculated blast pressure histories include reflections off adjacent surfaces, shock propagation from adjacent rooms, blast wave shadowing around corners and quasistatic blast pressure. The user can specify openings in walls allowing shock and quasistatic pressure to propagate between rooms, which can open only after specified failure criteria are satisfied. BLASTX is based on semi-empirical methods, including nonlinear addition laws for blast pressures from multiple reflecting surfaces based on computational fluid dynamics. BLASTX has wide ranging capabilities for calculating blast loads for many different high explosive charge and room geometries, but it is not validated for all of these cases.

  • BIRM3D

    BIRM3D

    BIRM3D software has demonstrated that with a validated impact response model, an engineer can evaluate the vulnerability of a barrier and the associated vehicle trajectory for a variety of impact scenarios without conducting costly vehicular crash tests. Further, due to the very efficient algorithms developed for BIRM3D, simulation runtime is typically under 10 minutes as opposed to days required by conventional finite element simulations.

  • WinGARD PE/WinGARD MP

    Window Glazing Analysis Response and Design

    WinGARD PE/WinGARD MP

    Window Glazing Analysis Response and Design

    Window Glazing Analysis Response and Design (WinGARD) was developed for the GSA as a simple, accurate analytical modeling tool for the response of windows to the effects of an explosion. The program calculates and graphically displays the response of window systems subjected to blast loads.

    WinGARD MP is an advanced program capable of analyzing multi-paned window systems. WinGARD MP utilizes the existing analysis models contained in WinGARD PE coupled with a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) code to model the combined response of the windows and the supporting framing, mullions or muntins.

  • SAP2000, Nonlinear

    SAP2000, Nonlinear

    SAP2000 V10, Nonlinear, Staged Construction is one of today’s most widely used structural software packages. Its advanced analytical techniques allow for step-by-step large deformation analysis, multiple p-delta, and eigen and ritz modal analyses.  Design options include fully interactive and graphical steel, concrete, and aluminum frame member design for static and dynamic loads including material and geometrical non-linearity.  At PEC, SAP2000 is mostly used in the progressive collapse analysis and design of buildings using the Alternate Path (AP) method. Other applications include structural analysis and design of test frames to support blast tests and focused structural analysis of critical building components.

  • LS-DYNA

    LS-DYNA

    LS-DYNA is a general-purpose transient dynamic finite element program capable of simulating complex real-world problems involving large deformations. LS-DYNA is the industry standard for analyzing structures subjected to short duration loads and significant geometric nonlinearities. Capabilities include fully Eulerian simulations, ALE, coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian and SPH. An extensive library of material models is available.

    Protection Engineering Consultants routinely employs LS-DYNA for design, analysis and simulation. Code is utilized for predicting blast loads, mechanical structure performance, blast and structure interaction, and human injury due to blunt trauma. Separately, the PENCURV code is utilized for determining loads on deep earth penetrator projectiles.   Representative problems include armored vehicle response and injury predictions for blast threats, vehicle impacts into countermobility barriers, locomotive collisions with shipping canisters for spent nuclear fuel, plane impact and explosive attack against reinforced concrete containers for nuclear rod assemblies, blast-loaded windows and frames, and progressive collapse in multi-story structures.

     

    Protection Engineering Consultants personnel have used LS-DYNA for highly complex mechanical modeling problems as well, such as vehicular collisions. In work for previous employers, our team members have conducted numerical analyses for Sandia National Laboratories involving the impact of airplanes, locomotives, rail cars, and tractor trailers with spent nuclear fuel shipping and storage casks. During the transportation of spent nuclear fuel by truck and train, the possibility exists that a train could impact the spent fuel cask at a grade crossing. A numerical study to assess the possibility of cask breach or material release in the event of a high-speed, broadside locomotive collision was performed.

  • CTH

    CTH

    The CTH suite of computer codes is designed to treat a wide range of shock wave propagation and material motion. Finite-volume analogs of the Lagrangian equations of momentum and energy conservation are employed with continuous rezoning to construct Eulerian differencing. CTH has models suitable for most conditions encountered in shock physics including material strength, fracture, distended materials, high explosives, and a variety of boundary conditions. The material equation-of-state models allow description of most states of matter normally encountered in shock physics.  CTH is used for studying weapon effects, armor/anti-armor interactions, warhead design, high-explosive initiation physics, and weapon safety issues.

    Protection Engineering Consultants has used CTH to model and evaluate small-caliber explosive warhead concepts that are designed to breach residential-doors in military operations in urban terrain (MOUT). We have also used CTH to evaluate the performance of blast walls at entry control points, the release of liquids and shock from munitions containing chemical agents, the overpressure environment from enclosed detonations, and the pressure histories on armored vehicles due to IED detonation.

  • 3D Blast

    3D Blast

    is a computer program that provides quick calculations and visualization of the effects of an open-air explosion on different building geometries. In general, it allows the user to approximate the three-dimensional blast load engulfment of a structure without having to resort to complex analyses. Given the building dimensions and the size and location of an explosive charge, the program will estimate the pressure and impulse distribution over the exterior of the building. The range to each node on the 3-D model is determined using the shortest path around the exterior of the facility. The software then uses an airblast driver to determine the appropriate pressure and impulse magnitudes for the range and orientation of each element. The resulting pressure and impulse engulfment are plotted as contours on the building model. The blast load calculation procedure outlined in the Army Technical Manual TM 5-855-1, “Fundamentals of Protective Design for Conventional Weapons” is the basis of the estimates performed by the program.


Resource Documents

We use and apply a number of criteria and reference documents on a daily basis. In the course of our work for you, we will make you aware of pertinent documents, sections and changes/updates to those documents. We have developed several of these documents; many have been developed and maintained by colleagues in government or at other firms. You'll find links to many of these provided below. Please contact us regarding other information that you may require as it pertains to your project or pursuit.


UFC 4-010-01 | Minimum Anti-terrorism Standards for Buildings


UFC 4-023-03 | Design of Buildings to Resist Progressive Collapse


Interagency Security Criteria | General Services Administration (GSA)


UFC 3-340-01 | Design and Analysis of Hardened Structures to Conventional Weapons Effects


UFC 3-340-02 | Structures to Resist the Effects of Accidental Explosions


ASCE 41 | Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings


ASTM F2248 | Standard Practice for Specifying an Equivalent 3-Second Duration Design Loading for Blast Resistant Glazing Fabricated with Laminated Glass


ASTM E1300 | Standard Practice for Determining Load Resistance of Glass in Buildings


Physical Security Design Manual for VA Facilities