Design of structures to extreme loads include explosive loading that generates fragments impact and overpressure (blast). These structures are commonly made of reinforced concrete and they are called 'protective structures', where structures that are not designed to extreme loading can still be exposed to such loads. It is therefore important to evaluate the response and capacity of these structures under explosive loads. A common source of threat is a charge with a metal casing. After the charge detonates, the casing expands and ruptures into a large number of fragments of different masses. Analysis and design of protective structures commonly assume uniform distributions of the (reflected) overpressure and the fragments. While the effect of the blast is associated mainly with the global structural response (e.g., flexure), the fragments can cause local damage (by their penetration), as well as global impact due to their mass and velocity. This work deals with these effects of the loading, but for a more realistic, non-uniform distribution of the fragments over a protective wall that they strike. The paper presents a case study of the response of a one-way reinforced concrete wall to the commonly assumed blast pressure, which is accompanied by a non-uniform fragments load. Initial results demonstrate the importance of considering this more realistic loading.
