EVALUATING STRUCTURAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE OKLAHOMA CITY

BOMBING
W. Gene Corley
Vice President Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc.
Skokie, Illinois
Abstract
At the request of the Federal !ergency "anage!ent Agency #F"A$ a %uilding
Perfor!ance Assess!ent Tea!#%PAT$ co!&osed of A!erican Society of Ci'il ngineers
#ASC$ and Federal (o'ern!ent engineers in'estigated da!age caused by the !ale'olent
bo!bing of the Alfred P. "urrah Federal %uilding #sho)n before the bo!bing in Figure *$ in
+klaho!a City, +klaho!a. The %PAT includes ASC tea! !e!bers, "ete A. So,en,
Charles A. Thornton, and Paul F. "lakar, )ho are e-&erts in forensic engineering, beha'ior
of structures under catastro&hic loadings, and &hysical security of structures. The tea! also
included engineers fro! F"A, the ..S. Ar!y Cor&s of engineers, the (eneral Ser'ices
Ad!inistration #(SA$, and the /ational Institute of Standards and Technology #/IST$.
Clifford +li'er, Senior ngineer, )as the F"A Pro0ect +fficer and Tea! Leader.
The &ur&oses of the in'estigation )ere to re'ie) da!age caused by the blast, deter!ine the
failure !echanis!, and identify engineering strategies for reducing da!age to ne) and
e-isting buildings. S&ecifically, !echanis!s for !ulti1ha,ard !itigation, including !itigation
of earthquake effects, )ere considered. A!ong the strategies e'aluated )ere &rocedures
and details &ro'ided in F"A2s *334 dition of /56P #/ational arthquake 5a,ards
6eduction Progra!$ 6eco!!ended &ro'isions for Seis!ic 6egulations for /e) %uildings
#6eference *$.
This re&ort describes results of the in'estigation, !akes reco!!endations for design of
buildings to be !ore blast1resistant, and discusses ho) these details !ight ha'e changed
results of da!age in +klaho!a City.
Introduction
7uring the &eriod, "ay 3 through *8, *339, 8 )eeks after the blast occurred on :ednesday,
A&ril *3, *339, the %PAT 'isited the area around the "urrah %uilding in +klaho!a City.
:hile in +klaho!a City, the %PAT took &hotogra&hs, collected structural dra)ings, sho&
dra)ings, &hotogra&hs, and sa!&les of structural co!&onents, including concrete and
reinforcing bars; and obtained an audio ta&e of the blast reco'ered fro! a da!aged building
across the street fro! the "urrah %uilding. The tea! also conducted inter'ie)s of
indi'iduals in'ol'ed in design, construction, and cleanu& of da!aged buildings. Physical
ins&ection of the "urrah %uilding )as li!ited to 'isual obser'ation.
.&on co!&letion of the site 'isit, data collected )ere analy,ed and the !ost &robable
res&onse of the building to the blast )as deter!ined. .sing kno)ledge of building
&erfor!ance, an e'aluation )as !ade of the use of S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e detailing to
enhance the resistance of buildings to blast loading. Further details are &ro'ided in 6eference
<.
Alfred P. "urrah Federal %uilding
7esign of the "urrah %uilding &ro0ect, sho)n in Figure *, )as done for the 7esign =
Construction 7i'ision, 6egion >, Fort :orth, Te-as, of the (SA Public %uildings Ser'ice,
:ashington 7C. The architect for the &ro0ect )as a 0oint 'enture of t)o fir!s, Sha)
Associates and Locke :right Foster, both based in +klaho!a City, +klaho!a. Indi'idual
architects of record )ere :endel V. Locke #6egistered Architect in +klaho!a$ and :illia!
". Sha) #6egistered Architect in +klaho!a,$. The structural engineer of record for the
&ro0ect )as Paul 7e ?irk&atrick #6egistered Professional ngineer in +klaho!a$.
A contract for the design of the &ro0ect )as signed in the early *3>@2s, and the contract
dra)ings that )ere issued for construction )ere dated "ay A, *3>4. Construction
docu!ents for the &ro0ect consist or architectural, structural, !echanical, and electrical
dra)ings, &lus s&ecifications for construction. The general contractor for the &ro0ect )as 0.
:. %ateson, Inc. Sho& dra)ings for reinforcing bars )ere &re&ared by The Ceco co!&any
bet)een 7ece!ber *3>4 and "ay *3>9. A s&ot check of the Ceco reinforcing bar sho&
dra)ings sho)s co!&liance and good correlation )ith the structural contract docu!ents.
Construction )as co!&leted in <@ !onths bet)een late *3>4 and early *3>A.
The "urrah %uilding &ro0ect included a nine1story office building, sho)n in Figures * and <,
#hereafter referred to as the nine1story &ortion of the "urrah %uilding$ )ith one1story
ancillary east and )est )ings, 'isible in figure *, and an ad0acent !ulti1le'el &arking
structure, &artially belo) grade and &artially abo'e grade, south of the office building.
Focus of this re&ort is &erfor!ance of the nine1story &ortion of the "urrah %uilding. This
&ortion of the building sustained significant da!age and &artial colla&se as a result of the
A&ril *3, *339 bo!bing sho)n in Figure 8. 6e!aining &ortions of the nine1story and one1
story buildings )ere de!olished shortly after co!&letion of the in'estigation. The &arking
structure )as barely da!aged and has not been de!olished.
The nine1story fra!e of the "urrah %uilding )as an +rdinary "o!ent Fra!e of reinforced
concrete su&&orted on colu!ns. The o'erall &lan di!ension )as a&&ro-i!ately <<@ feet in
the east1)est direction and a&&ro-i!ately *@@ feet in the north1south direction, as sho)n in
Figure 4.
In &lan, the structure for the nine1story &ortion consisted of ten <@1foot bays in the east1)est
direction and t)o 891foot bays in the north1south direction &lus shear )alls and other
locali,ed colu!ns and )alls in the core area at the !id&oint of the south side of the building.
-&osed reinforced concrete )ith a 'ertical1board1for!ed finish ser'es as the e-terior
architectural treat!ent. Four large, &ro!inent, 'ertical circular tube colu!ns, one et each of
the four corners of the building, acted a air intakeBe-haust shaft for the 'entilation syste! as
seen in Figure *. An ele'ator shaft and stair )ells )ere located inthe south central &ortion of
the building.
7ata collection
Structural dra)ings that )ere obtained sho) that the "urrah %uilding consisted of cast1in1
&lace ordinary reinforced concrete fra!ing )ith con'entionally reinforced colu!ns, girders,
bea!s, slab bands, an a one1)ay slab syste!. -terior s&andrels su&&orting the e-terior
curtain)all )ere e-&osed concrete )ith a 'ertical1board1for!ed finish. The lateral load
resisting syste! for )ind forces )as co!&osed of reinforced concrete shear )alls located
)ithin the stair and ele'ator syste!s on the south side of the building. Although neither the
go'erning building code nor the o)ner required consideration of blast loading or earthquake
loading, the required )ind1load resistance &ro'ided substantial resistance to lateral load.
According to general notes on the structural dra)ings, the "urrah %uilding &ro0ect )as all
reinforced concrete that )as &ro&ortioned, fabricated, and deli'ered in accordance )ith the
A!erican Concrete Institute #ACI$ %uilding Code 6equire!ents for 6einforced Concrete
#ACI 8*C1>*, 6eference 8$. The yield strength for ties, D8 bars, and concrete reinforcing for
stirru&s )as 4@,@@@ &ounds &er square inch. The yield strength for all other defor!ed bars
and all )elded )ire fabric )as A@,@@@ &ounds &er square inch. The <C1day concrete
co!&ressi'e strengths included 8,@@@ &ounds &er square inch for foundation and equi&!ent
bases and 4,@@@ &ounds &er square inch for structural bea!s, slabs, colu!ns, )alls,
counterforts, &ilasters, s&read footings, and &arking garage e-terior )alls. (eneral notes
also required all reinforcing bar s&lices to be la&&ed 8@ bar dia!eters unless other)ise
noted.
Plans sho)ed that the design li'e loads follo)ed require!ents of the +klaho!a %uilding
Code. :ind loads )ere included but no blast or earthquake loads )ere required.
Architectural dra)ings and structural dra)ings for the &ro0ect )ere re'ie)ed by the %PAT.
7ra)ings ere carefully detailed, )ell &re&ared, and )ell coordinated. The le'el of structural
detailing and the use of schedules )ith full di!ensions for all slab, T1bea!, s&andrel bea!,
transfer girder, and colu!n reinforcing bars are significantly better than nor!ally e-&ected
for buildings of this ty&e.
Concrete and reinforcing bar sa!&les )ere selected on "ay *<, *339, fro! !aterials !o'ed
to the +klaho!a County Sheriff2s Firing 6ange. 7uring this 'isit, &hotogra&hs taken soon
after the e-&losion by se'eral la) enforce!ent organi,ations )ere re'ie)ed. Also, se'eral
&ieces of building debris )ere ins&ected.
Ins&ection of re!aining &ieces of concrete debris disclosed that there )ere a fe) EchunkE
sa!&les and sections of s&andrel bea!s stored at the Firing 6ange. Also, &ieces of defor!ed
reinforcing bar )ere stacked near the concrete debris. Sheriff2s &ersonnel confir!ed that the
concrete and the reinforcing bars had co!e fro! the "urrah %uilding.
+ther &ieces of debris, including so!e large slab sections, )ere stored on one of the firing
ranges north and )est of the !ain &arking lot. Sheriff2s &ersonnel confir!ed that these
&ieces of concrete also had been taken fro! the "urrah %uilding.
Locations )ere !arked on si- concrete debris sa!&les )here cores )ere to be taken. In
addition, a se'enth sa!&le, a chunk of concrete, )as !arked )here core )as to be taken.
Se'eral sections of reinforcing bars )ere !arked to be taken as sa!&les.
+n "ay *<, *339, Terracon Consultants, Inc., of +klaho!a City took si- A1inch cores fro!
the !arked areas. After the cores )ere shi&&ed to Construction Technology Laboratories,
Inc. #CTL$, in Skokie, Illinois, selected sa!&les )ere tested. Si!ilarly, reinforcing bar
sa!&les )ere sent to CTL for testing.
In addition to conducting a 'isual ins&ection, the %PAT re'ie)ed &hotogra&hs and 'ideo
ta&es recorder on A&ril *3, *339, and during the follo)ing rescue and reco'ery &eriod.
These records )ere useful in establishing the &erfor!ance of the building.
At 3 a.!. on A&ril *3, *339, a hearing on )ater rights )as con'ened in the :ater 6esources
building, )hich is located at the northeast corner of /orth 5ar'ey A'enue and /.:. Fifth
Street, less than a block fro! the site of the e-&losion. An audio ta&e recorder, used to
docu!ent the hearing, )as started a&&ro-i!ately < !inutes before the blast occurred.
The audio recorder ca&tured the sound of the blast. Analysis if the recording is sho)n in
Figure 9. As can be seen in this figure, the blast )as follo)ed by a brief &eriod of !oderate
noise, the a &eriod of about 8 seconds during )hich the noise le'el e-ceeds the range of the
recorder. This 81second &eriod is inter&reted to be the ti!e it took for the building to
colla&se.
Inter'ie)s
In a co!&rehensi'e effort to obtain infor!ation, !e!bers, of the %PAT inter'ie)ed se'eral
key indi'iduals and grou&s of &eo&le. These inter'ie)s )ere conducted in an effort to
deter!ine the original design &ara!eters for the building and to obtain infor!ation about
e'ents as the building res&onded to the blast loading and infor!ation about the da!age
&resent in the building i!!ediately after the colla&se.
7r. :. (ener Corley #ASC$ inter'ie)ed the Structural ngineer of 6ecord for the "urrah
%uilding &ro0ect, Paul ?ir&atrick, P.., on "ay **, *339. "r,. ?irk&atrick noted that the
original design &ara!eters did not require any consideration of blast resistance, earthquake,
or other e-tre!e loading. 6ather, the structure )as to be designed for )ind and nor!al
office building loading in +klaho!a City.
Soon after the blast, "r, ?irk&atrick )as called to the site to assist )ith stabili,ing the
debris. 5e noted that the &ri!ary failure in'ol'ed colla&se of the north &ortion of the office
structure. T)o bays of floors in the south half of the building also colla&sed. "r.
?irk&atrick did not obser'e any da!age that suggested significant lateral !o'e!ent of the
structure. 5e sa) no 'isible signs of hinging at the to&s or botto!s of any re!aining
colu!ns. Also, there )ere no 'isible indications that shear)alls had hinged significantly.
"r. ?irk&atrick belie'ed that the colla&se )as initiated by failure of the colu!ns along the
north side of the building. In his o&inion, t)o or !ore colu!ns !ay ha'e been destroyed in
the 'icinity of )here the blast originated. 5e felt that &erha&s a third colu!n #su&&orting a
transfer girder$, as )ell as one interior colu!n, could ha'e been destroyed by the blast itself.
+n "ay **, *339, an inter'ie) )as held )ith ?en "orris, an e!&loyee of the +klaho!a
State :ater 6esources %oard. "r. "orris )as in the :ater 6esources %uilding, located
0ust across the street fro! the "urrah building, at the ti!e of the blast. 5e stated that )hen
the e-&losion occurred, he noticed the building he )as in shaking, fluorescent lights and
)indo)s e-&loding, ceiling tile falling, and )alls blo)ing in)ard. 5e i!!ediately s!elled
gas and nitrates.
Although "r. "orris )as knocked to the floor and )as a)are that there )as substantial
da!age to his surroundings, he ne'er did EhearE the e-&losion. After hel&ing other
e!&loyees lea'e, he left the :ater 6esources building and )alked about one block
north)est, to )here he had &arked his truck. The truck had sustained se'ere da!age,
including dented doors and broken )indo)s.
+n "ay *8, *339, the %PAT inter'ie)ed 6obert 5ill of %rochette, 7a'id, and 7rake, an
engineering consultant to (SA, and Fohn "c6oberts, a (SA e!&loyee. %oth engineers
noted that they obser'ed nothing une-&ected about failure surfaces in the structure. For the
!ost &art, the hinging surfaces indicated a fle-ural failure acco!&anied by ri&&ing out of the
botto! reinforce!ent as the colla&se &rogressed. They noted that the concrete a&&eared to
be nor!al1)eigth aggregate.
6obert Cornforth, P.., an +klaho!a City structural engineer, &ro'ided 'ery hel&ful insight
concerning da!age to surrounding buildings. "r. Cornforth )as called in to ins&ect a
nu!ber of structures da!aged by the e-&losion. These included the <41story high1rise
6egency To)ers A&art!ents building, )hich has a reinforced concrete fra!e; the Fournal
6ecord building, )hich also has a reinforced concrete fra!e; the one1story Fournal 6ecord
Anne-, )hich has a light1!etal steel fra!e; and the G"CA building, )hich has a reinforced
concrete fra!e and is across the street fro! and northeast of the "urrah %uilding site. In
addition, "r. Cornforth had ins&ected a nu!ber of lo)1rise, unreinforced !asonry buildings
and steel1fra!e buildings in the area.
"r. Cornforth noted that although there )as non1structural da!age to !any buildings, he
found little significant structural da!age to engineered structures !ore than one block a)ay
fro! the "urrah %uilding. S&ecifically, the <41story 6egency To)ers A&art!ents building,
sho)n in Figure A, the !ain !ulti1story &ortion of the Fournal 6ecord building, sho)n in
Figure >, and the G"CA building, sho)n in Figure C, had da!age to se'eral non1load1
bearing )alls inside each building. Also, &ortions of the roofs )ere da!aged or destroyed,
but the structural fra!e )ere intact and essentially unda!aged. /one of these buildings )as
in danger of general colla&se. "ore details are gi'en in 6eference <.
It )as noted that the one1story light1!etal steel building referred to as the Fournal 6ecord
Anne- )as badly da!aged, sho)n in Figure 3. There )as se'ere da!age to e-terior )alls
and the roof, and the loading dock enclosure )as near colla&se.
ngineer 7a'id 5a!!ond of Palo Alto, California, an engineering consultant )orking for
F"A, &ro'ided the tea! )ith his obser'ations. "r. 5a!!ond also confir!ed there )as no
e'idence of fle-ural hinging at the to&s and botto!s of colu!ns in the "urrah %uilding.
Consequently, he did not belie'e the building de'elo&ed a !echanis! fro! lateral load.
%ased on his obser'ations, "r. 5a!!ond offered the o&inion that at least one colu!n near
the blast had been destroyed by brisance #the shattering effect of the blast$. 5e also belie'ed
that at least one and &erha&s t)o other colu!ns had been knocked out by the blast.
Test of Mter!ls
Fi'e of the cores taken fro! the concrete fro! the "urrah %uilding )ere selected for
co!&ression testing. In addition, t)o cores )ere taken fro! a chunk sa!&le. +ne of these
)as tested in co!&ression and the other )as sub0ected to &etrogra&hic e-a!ination. 6esults
of these tests are sho)n in Table *.
Although there )as e'idence of da!age fro! blast andBor fro! handling stresses, 'isual
ins&ection of the concrete indicated that it !et or e-ceeded the quality called for in the
design s&ecifications. Subsequent co!&ression test results indicate that the concrete strength
)as )ell in e-cess of the 4,@@@ &ound &er square inch called for in the design s&ecifications.
Petrogra&hic e'aluation indicated that the concrete contained nor!al1)eight aggregate and
)as of the quality required in the design s&ecifications.
Se'eral &ieces of reinforcing bars )ere reco'ered fro! the debris of the building. A fe)
lengths of straight bar )ere tested in tension. 6esults of these tests are &resented in Table <.
In all cases, the yield stresses and strengths !easured for the bars )ere greater than the
!ini!u!s s&ecified and easily !et the require!ents of the design s&ecifications.
Deter"!nt!on of Blst S!#e
.sing forensic engineering techniques, it )as &ossible to deter!ine the blast si,e. These
findings &ro'ided a !eans for assessing res&onse of the building and &otential !itigation
techniques.
Soil test boring data obtained along /.:. Fifth Street )as found in the architectural &lans.
The borings )ere taken a&&ro-i!ately *3.9 feet south of the street centerline. Crater sur'ey
!easure!ents located the center of the crater to be a&&ro-i!ately <C feet south of the street
centerline. Also, the crater )as located a&&ro-i!ately !id)ay bet)een the locations of
%oring /o. < and %oring /o.8 sho)n on the architectural &lans. According to these t)o
borings, the a'erage thickness of the co!bined as&haltBconcrete &a'e!ent )as found to be
about *C inches.
7uring the crater sur'ey, &a'e!ent thickness )as !easured to include a&&ro-i!ately **
inches of as&halt o'er > inches of concrete at the north ti& of the crater. %elo) the concrete
layer, %oring /o. < indicates that the soil is a bro)n1red silty sand to a de&th of <.< feet and
a red clay )ith sandstone do)n to *4 feet. %oring /o. 8 sho)s a loose fine red sand to a
de&th of A feet and a loose fine to !ediu! grain tan sand to a de&th of C.8 feet.
%ased on obser'ations !ade of the crater and other da!age, the blast that da!aged the
building had a yield equi'alent to a&&ro-i!ately 4,@@@ &ounds of T/T #6eference <$. This
e-tre!ely large e-&losion )as centered a&&ro-i!ately *9.A feet fro! colu!n (<@ #See
Figure <$. The blast caused a crater a&&ro-i!ately <C feet in dia!eter.
Res$onse of N!ne%Story &ort!on of M'rr( B'!l)!n*
As indicted in 6eference <, the effect of the blast on colu!n (<@ abru&tly re!o'ed it by
brisance #a shattering effect$. Loss of this colu!n )ould re!o'e su&&ort for the transfer
girder on the third floor bet)een Colu!ns (*A and (<4. Analysis of !echanis!s that could
result )hen Colu!n (<@ )as re!o'ed sho)s that an +rdinary "o!ent Fra!e )ould be
unable to su&&ort the structure abo'e the third floor.
"a0or structural da!age and building colla&se occurred at the north side of the "urrah
%uilding, )hich faced the blast as sho)n in Figures 8 and *@. "ost of the north half of the
rectangular foot&rint, bet)een colu!ns (*< and (<C #e-ce&t for the e-tre!e )est end$,
e-tending 89 feet into the building, colla&sed. Three colu!ns #(*A, (<@, and (1<4$
su&&orting the third1le'el transfer girder )ere destroyed. The destruction of these colu!ns
triggered the &rogressi'e colla&se of floors abo'e. In addition, bet)een Colu!n Lines <@
and <4 # a length of 4@ feet$, the colla&se e-tended the full >@1foot )idth of the building #to,
but not through, the south )all$. 6oughly half of the occu&iable s&ace in the nine1story
&ortion of the building colla&sed.
:hile the north face of the building sustained the brunt of the effects of the blast, structural
da!age to the re!aining e-&osures )as !ore li!ited.
Loss of three colu!ns and &ortions of so!e floors by direct effects of the blast accounted
for only a s!all &ortion of the da!age. "ost of the da!age )as caused by &rogressi'e
colla&se follo)ing loss of the colu!ns.
6ay %lakeney, 7irector of +&erations for the +klaho!a "edical -a!iner2s +ffice, has
esti!ated that u& to 3@ &ercent of the fatalities )ere the result of crushing caused by falling
debris.
Anlys!s of Str'+t'rl Me+(n!s"s
Calculations indicated that e'en a EstaticE destruction of colu!n (<@ at the first floor )ould
create sufficient reason for structural colla&se of Colu!n Line ( bet)een Colu!n Lines *A
and <4. The e'ents )ere neither static nor describable by a single 'ariable in one di!ension.
The failure !ay be e-&lained as a result of co!&le- interaction of !any e'ents in !any
directions, but destruction of Colu!n (<@ &ro'ides a funda!ental required reason for the
failure. The structure is not stable )ithout Colu!n (<@.
Colu!n (<@ !ost likely failed by brisance or shattering. It is unlikely that there )as ti!e for
a fle-ural failure. The colu!n )ould ha'e been engulfed before the required !o'e!ent
could occur, dissi&ating !ost of the a&&lied &ressure. A strong &ossibility is that the blast
EscouredE &art of the sell i!!ediately. The core, )ith its light trans'erse reinforce!ent and
hea'y longitudinal reinforce!ent, )as brittle. It shattered #in shear$ &artially before being
engulfed. #Shear cracks could ha'e occured )ith the sell intact.$ the colu!n reaction related
to self1)eight de!olished )hate'er )as left intact of the concrete section.
Calculations in 6eference < sho) that Colu!ns (*A and (<4 at the first floor )ere also
'ulnerable to the sa!e failure sequence. 5o)e'er, they could ha'e been destroyed by being
&ulled do)n by the connections of the falling s&andrels. The re!aining stub of the transfer
girder fra!ing into Colu!n (*< suggests that the discontinuity of the to& reinforce!ent
)ould ha'e isolated the failure had the colu!ns not failed first.
For reasons of con'enience in laying reinforcing bars, the &ositi'e1!o!ent reinforcing bars
a&&ear to ha'e been e-tended through su&&orts for the s&andrel girders at the fourth
through the ninth floors. 5ad this detail also been used across Colu!n Lines *<, *A, <@ and
<4 for all girders, the calculated ca&acity )ould ha'e increased to *<@ &ounds &er square
foot #no!inal !aterial strength$, )hich is )ithin range of the self1)eigth of the structure.
S&iral #helical$ reinforce!ent &rescribed for S&ecial "o!ent Fra!es by Cha&ter <* of the
ACI2s %uilding code 6equire!ents for 6einforced Concrete #ACI 8*C139, 6eference 4$, but
not required for +rdinary "o!ent Fra!es by ACI 8*C1* #6eference 4$, )ould ha'e resisted
the shattering of the colu!n and )ould ha'e !aintained a-ial1load strength after scouring of
the shell. .se of s&iral reinforce!ent, es&ecially in cases )ith discontinued colu!n
arrange!ents #as in the "urrah %uilding$ and close bursts, !ay be an i!&ortant ingredient
for blast resistance.
&ro,,le -!l're Me+(n!s"
Fro! the analyses described in 6eference <, the blast )as equi'alent to the detonation of
4,@@@ &ounds of T/T. The blast caused the re!o'al of Colu!n (<@ by brisance as )ell as
the shear failure of Colu!ns (*A and (<4. :ith this loss of three inter!ediate &rinci&al
colu!ns, the transfer girder su&&orting the u&&er &ortion of the building on the )est side
colla&sed. "ost of the de'astation )as due to this &rogressi'e colla&se rather than the
direct effects of the e-&losion. Li!it analyses of Colu!n Line ( indicate that the fra!e does
not ha'e the ca&acity to resist its self1)eight if any of the first1story colu!ns on Colu!n
Line ( is lost.
.se of s&iral reinforce!ent in the first1story colu!ns and changes in ne) construction are
good candidates for a'oiding general da!age fro! close bursts. Such reinforce!ent of
colu!ns can contribute to &re'enting disintegration of colu!ns close to the blast. If the
colu!ns stay in &lace, the can hel& &re'ent &rogressi'e colla&se e'en though badly
da!aged.
Continuous reinforce!ent in transfer girders can &ro'ide continuity that )ill &er!it s&anning
the ga& if one colu!n is re!o'ed. In the "urrah %uilding, colu!n shear reinforce!ent in
the for! of closed hoo&s or s&irals could ha'e &re'ented failure of Colu!ns (*A and (<4.
In co!bination )ith continuity reinforce!ent, colu!n shear reinforce!ent )ould ha'e
greatly reduced &rogressi'e colla&se.
-!n)!n*s
%ased on re'ie) of &lans, sho& dra)ings, s&ecifications, and construction records, it is
concluded that the "urrah %uilding )as designed as an ordinary reinforce1concrete1fra!e
structure in accordance )ith ACI 8*31>* #6eference 8$. 6ecords indicate that the building
)as e-tre!ely )ell detailed.
The structural design )as found to ha'e included all of the factors required by the go'erning
building code at the ti!e of construction and to ha'e been e-tre!ely )ell e-ecuted. :hen
this building )as designed, there )as no require!ent to consider earthquake, blast, or other
e-tre!e loadings in +klaho!a City.
The effect of the blast on Colu!n (<@ abru&tly re!o'ed it by brisance #a shattering effect$.
Loss of this colu!n )ould re!o'e su&&ort for the transfer girder on the third floor bet)een
Colu!ns (*A and (<4. Analysis of !echanis!s that could result )hen Colu!n (<@ )as
re!o'ed sho)s that an +rdinary "o!ent Fra!e )ould be unable to su&&ort the structure
abo'e the third floor.
In addition to destroying Colu!n (<@, force fro! the blast )ould cause Colu!ns (*A and
(<4 to be loaded in such a )ay that yield or near1yield !o!ents )ould be &roduced o'er
their lengths fro! their bases to the third floor. Corres&onding shear stresses )ould e-ceed
the calculated shear ca&acity of each colu!n. Consequently, calculations indicate that
Colu!ns (*A and (<4 failed in shear. Loss of these t)o colu!ns )ould lea'e the transfer
girder unsu&&orted fro! the east )all of the building to Colu!n Line (*<. Calculations
indicate that an +rdinary "o!ent Fra!e could not su&&ort itself )ith three colu!ns in
Colu!n Line ( !issing.
A$$ly!n* Ert(.'/e Det!l!n* to Re)'+e Losses
+rdinary "o!ent Fra!es ha'e li!ited ca&acity for dissi&ating energy for! e-tre!e loading
such as earthquake and blast. 5o)e'er, S&ecial "o!ent Fra!es and 7ual Syste!s )ith
S&ecial "o!ent Fra!es, as defined in the *334 edition of the /56P #/ational arthquake
5a,ards 6eduction for /e) %uildings #6eference *$, &ro'ide structural syste!s )ith !uch
higher ability to dissi&ate energy. It is noted that the /56P reco!!endations for designs
of S&ecial "o!ent Fra!es and 7ual Syste!s )ere not )idely a'ailable until *3C9,
a&&ro-i!ately *@ years after the building )as constructed.
If detailing currently used for S&ecial "o!ent Fra!es had been &resent at the ti!e of the
blast, Colu!ns (*A and (<4 )ould ha'e had enough shear resistance to de'elo& a
!echanis! )ithout failure. Consequently, it is likely that (*A and (<4 )ould not ha'e
failed abru&tly due to the blast loading if S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e detailing had been used.
7ue to its close &ro-i!ity to the 'ery large e-&losi'e de'ice, Colu!n (<@ )ould be likely to
ha'e been destroyed by brisance e'en if it )as detailed as a S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e.
5o)e'er, the hea'y confine!ent reinforce!ent that )ould ha'e been &resent )ould ha'e
increased the chances of sur'i'al for Colu!n (<@.
If S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e detailing had been used, the follo)ing results could ha'e been
e-&ectedH
*. If Colu!n (<@ sur'i'ed the blast, loss of structure )ould ha'e been li!ited to those
floor slabs destroyed by air blast. This )ould reduce the loss of floors by as !uch as
C9 &ercent.
<. If Colu!n (<@ )as re!o'ed by the blast, nor!al detailing for S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e
design )ould &ro'ide reinforce!ent in the transfer girder at the third floor that
)ould greatly increase the &ossibility that the slabs abo'e )ould not colla&se.
Consequently, destruction could be li!ited to only those areas destroyed by air blast.
Although use of a S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e )ould not co!&letely eli!inate loss of
&ortions of the building, it is esti!ated that losses )ould be reduced by as !uch as
C@ &ercent.
8. If colu!n (<@ )as re!o'ed by the blast and failure occurred in the s&ans bet)een
Colu!ns (*A and (<4, loss of the structure )ould be li!ited to those &anels destroyed
by air blast and those &anels located bet)een Colu!ns Line F to ( and Colu!ns Lines
*A to <4. 6esulting loss of floor s&ace to either air blast or colla&se )ould be reduced by
!ore than 9@ &ercent.
%ased on this analysis, it is concluded that use of S&ecial "o!ent Fra!e detailing has the
&otential for significantly i!&ro'ing blast resistance.
Referen+es
*. Federal !ergency "anage!ent Agency, /56P #/ational arthquake 5a,ards
6eduction &rogra!$ 6eco!!ended Pro'isions for Seis!ic 6egulations for /e)
%uildings, *334. dition, EPart *H Pro'isions, E F"A1<<<E, &re&ared by the
%uilding Seis!ic Safety Council, *339, ..S. (o'ern!ent Printing +ffice,
:ashington, 7C, 889 &&.
<. Corley, :. (ene; So,en, "ete A.; Thornton, Charles 5.; and "lakar, Paul F., EThe
+klaho!a City %o!bingH I!&ro'ing %uilding Perfo!ance Through "ulti15a,ard
"itigation,E F"A1<>>, "itigation 7irectorate, August *33A, ..S. (o'ern!ent
Printing +ffice, :ashington, 7C, 3@ &&.
8. A!erican Concrete Institute, %uilding Code 6equire!ents for 6einforced Concrete
#ACI 8*C1>*$, ACI Co!!ittee 8*C, 7etroit, "ichigan, *3>*.
4. A!erican Concrete Institute, %uilding Code 6equire!ents for Structural Concrete #ACI
8*C139$, ACI Co!!ittee 8*C, 7etroit, "ichigan, *339.