Multiple building simulations and effect of berms behind blast barrier walls

The ERDC is developing procedures to be used to increase the level of protection to our military when it occupies buildings in an urban environment. An engineering model for predicting the effects of surrounding buildings and a model for predicting the effects of barriers on airblast pressures are needed. Combined high-performance computing (HPC) and experimental investigations are being conducted to develop these models. HPC simulations of the effects of barriers and barriers with berms are compared with experimental data. HPC results for simulations of the effect of a nearby building on the load on the structure of interest are also presented. The HPC simulations along with experimental results are being used to understand the phenomenology so that an engineering model can be developed.