Numerical simulation of dynamic response of an existing subway station subjected to internal blast loading

In order to design and retrofit a subway station to resist an internal blast, the distribution of blast loading and its effects on structures should be investigated firstly. In this paper, the behavior of a typical subway station subjected to different internal blast loadings was analyzed. It briefly introduced the geometric characteristics and material constitutive model of an existing two-layer and three-span frame subway station. Then three cases of different explosive charges were considered to analyze the dynamic responses of the structure. Finally, the maximum principal stress, displacement and velocity of the columns in the three cases were obtained and discussed. It concluded that the responses of the columns are sensitive to the charge of explosive and the distance from the detonation. It’s also found that the stairs between the two layers have significant effects on the distribution of the maximum principal stress of the columns in the upper layer. The explicit dynamic nonlinear finite element software—ANSYS/LS-DYNA was used in this study.