ABSTRACT: Most of the materials involved in petrochemical plants are flammable and explosive hydrocarbon liquids and gases. Once leakage occured, fire and explosion accidents often caused heavy casualties and economic losses. However, most existing buildings close to the production facility only consider the fire protection requirements, not designed to withstand blast loading. Polyurea is a specific chemically cross-linked elastomeric copolymer. Due to its superior physical and mechanical properties, it is extensively used as a protective coating in many industrial applications, such as vehicles, ships, and buildings. Polyurea coated shelter can be used to replace the low strength buildings which cannot meet explosion resistance requirements. The main frame and wall of the shelter were studied by combining the field gas explosion test with the equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) and 3D finite element simulation. It was found that only a few members of the main frame entered the stage of plastic deformation (Fig.1), and the ductility ratio and support rotation met the requirements. The uncoated blast resistant plate approached the ultimate failure state after explosion load (Fig.2). The middle square steel and the surrounding fixed bolts had a significant effect on the overall blast resistant ability of plate structure. Under the same test conditions, the structure of the polyurea coated blast resistant plate was intact and the maximum deformation was reduced by 72% (Fig.3). The research results provide an effective method for the blast resistant reconstruction of such buildings.
 

gas explosion, polyurea, petrochemical existing building, blast resistant plate, field test