Damage of reinforced concrete columns under demolition blasting

The aim of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate the damage of RC column specimens in blasting tests, which was required to apply blasting demolition techniques to RC buildings with rather excessive reinforcement due to earthquake resistant design. In the blasting tests, the amount of explosives used and the longitudinal and shear reinforcement ratios and concrete strength of the RC column specimens were test variables. The test results revealed that the shear reinforcing bars confining the core concretes of the RC column specimens significantly affect the damage of the RC column specimens by the blasting. The analytical investigation supported that the residual resistances of the blast damaged RC column specimens can be evaluated through section analysis by considering the compressive buckling strength of the longitudinal reinforcing bars exposed by the blasting.