Defence structures

Sir, - It is depressing that an accidental fire has caused havoc to the ammunition depot in Bharatpur resulting in huge loss of arms and ammunition and human life. The primary reason for the spread of the fire from one storage structure to another can be attributed to the ineffectiveness of the structures storing such explosive arms to resist accidental blast loads. In most of the defence ammunition depots in the country, the explosives are stored inside conventional warehouses and buildings with the walls and roof slabs designed in a manner similar to civilian godowns. Neither the walls nor the roof can withstand any impact or impulse load. Because of this, any accidental fire that causes explosion in a storage godown could trigger its spread to the adjacent structures and amenities.

Way back in the Eighties, a technique for constructing blast- resistant ammunition storage structures using `laced reinforced concrete walls and roof slabs' has been developed by the undersigned and his team of scientists at the Structural Engineering Research Centre, a constituent of CSIR.

The effectiveness of the technique in containing and confining the effects of blast (including the missile effect caused due to flying splinters) was proved beyond doubt. Another technique using high-performance `steel fibre reinforced concrete' was also developed and demonstrated during this time.

Both the techniques improve the performance of the concrete walls and roof slabs against blast and similar impulse loads by rendering the structural components extremely ductile and by confining the concrete core inside the walls and slabs thereby preventing their spalling and subsequent collapse. These techniques are being adopted as a matter of routine in the construction of defence structures in many Western countries.

Even though the initial cost of construction using the above techniques will be high, it can be justified by the long-term gains.

V. S. Parameswaran,

Chennai

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