Abstract:
Cantilever slabs are among the most vulnerable structural elements at blast loading. As they
are indispensable to most structures, it is important to investigate the behaviour of cantilever slabs in a
blast environment and possibilities of improving their blast resistant abilities. In this paper we are
proposing simplified design envelopes drawn for steel to concrete ratio and effective depth of slabs
against blast parameters for a common range of cantilever slabs. These design envelopes have been
prepared using results of previous research. Using these envelopes, conclusions are made about the
effect of slab thickness which is one of the major parameters for improving blast resistant ability. This
paper also discusses the blast resistant ability of reinforced concrete cantilevers designed by using the
code BS8110 and ways to improve such conventional designs to make them better resistant in a blast
loading environment in an economical way.
