Improving the Blast Resistance of Large Steel Gates—Numerical Study

Blast resistant gates/doors are essential for sensitive infrastructure, such as embassies, ministries, or parliaments. Lightweight gates equipped with ‘energy absorbing systems’ have better operational performance than the traditional costly and bulky design. Graded auxetic structures have not yet been used as potential passive damping systems in the supporting frame of blast resistant gates. Consequently, this study tries to test if a uniaxial graded auxetic damper (UGAD) proposed by the authors in a recent article, namely the development of a new shock absorbing UGAD, could maintain a 3000 mm × 4500 mm steel gate operable after high blast peak reflected overpressure of 6.6 MPa, from 100 kg TNT at 5 m stand-off distance. The blast-induced response of the gate was assessed, with and without the proposed UGAD, using Abaqus/Explicit solver. Results showed that the attachment of the proposed UGAD to the gate led to a dramatic decrease in permanent deformations (a critical factor for gate operability after a blast event). Hence, a lighter, more economical gate (with 50% reduction in mass) was required to satisfy the operability condition. In addition, 49% of peak reaction forces were diminished, that have a direct impact on the supporting frame. Moreover, the results revealed that, in the numerical model, 56% of the achieved plastic dissipation energy was from the UGADs, and 44% from the gate. The outcomes of this research may have a positive impact on other sectors beyond academia, such as industry, economy, and public safety.