Keywords: reliability, blast loads, explosions, concrete blocks, finite element analysis.

This chapter describes the development and use of a procedure to assess the reliability of concrete masonry unit walls subjected to personnel-delivered blast loads. Consideration is given to maintaining practical computational effort for both the structural analysis and the reliability models. Blast load and wall resistance models are developed based on experimental and analytical data and resistance is evaluated with a large strain, large displacement transient dynamic finite element analysis. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to identify significant random variables and a reliability analysis conducted with a practicable level of computational effort. Reliability, over various load frequency-of-occurrence times, is estimated for grouted and un-grouted walls for three design blast load levels in terms of wall failure and occupant injury.

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