As the summer of 2020 winds down and transitions into fall, let's take some time to learn more about modular blast-resistant buildings. While the exteriors of blast-resistant buildings are typically simple, utilitarian and often mistaken for shipping containers, there are many unique exterior elements that, upon closer examination, deliver serious functionality and purpose.
Corrugated steel
Perhaps the most identifiable aesthetic of a blast-resistant building is its thick, corrugated steel exterior. With corrugation ridges running vertically, the steel exterior cladding of the building works with an engineered structure, or frame, to create the primary protection of blast-resistant design. While steel has excellent tensile strength, its compressive strength is relatively weaker. Corrugation increases rigidness and strength, which therefore improves protection.
Roofline
To a casual observer, a blast-resistant building's roof appears to be flat. However, behind the horizontal ridgeline where the apparent roof meets the vertical walls, there is a sloped panel roof surface that diverts water to one or two sides of the structure. The best designs seek to minimize diversion of water to seams where individual building modules join or to areas of the roof that have penetrations. It is not uncommon for manufacturers to utilize some form of waterproofing membrane, coatings or covers on blast-resistant buildings to improve resistance against water infiltration.
ISO connections
One of the primary benefits of a modular blast-resistant building is the ability to be lifted, transported and moved efficiently. Nearly all will include highly visible ISO lifting elements, allowing for safe and efficient delivery anywhere in the world. ISO design allows a blast-resistant module to be handled by all types of cranes, top loaders, straddle carriers, reach stackers and tilt beds. Additionally, some manufacturers, including RedGuard, implement fork pockets on the base, which allow side-picking and lifting by suitable forklifts. The wide range of options available for moving a blast-resistant building allows for transport via truck, boat, train or even helicopter.
Windows
Typically, a blast-resistant building is designed primarily for protection, with comfort and amenities secondary. However, in recent years, improved design processes and the availability of high-strength blast-resistant glass have enabled manufacturers to install windows in blast-resistant buildings, which vastly improve the functionality of modules used for control, security and offices. These windows are fixed, ideally minimally sized, and engineered to match or exceed the building's hazard rating (an 8-psi building with a 5-psi window will be rated overall at 5 psi).
Placards
Given the mobile nature of a modular blast-resistant building, it is likely a unit will be moved after being delivered to a site. On every building, RedGuard includes numerous placards identifying the building's hazard rating. This ensures proper siting in the future, correctly matching a building's hazard rating with an active hazard area when the building is being relocated.
HVAC
On large, multisection installations, an HVAC is most efficiently installed as a pad-mounted unit, with common ducts distributing heat/cool air throughout the blast-resistant building. However, most blast-resistant buildings will have an HVAC system -- typically reverse hot and cold -- mounted somewhere on the building's exterior. Most often prewired to the unit's service panel, an exterior-mounted HVAC system is efficient, easy to use and highly serviceable. There are many variations of wall-mounted HVAC systems available, including blast-resistant, high-efficiency, special-use in classified areas, corrosion-resistant, etc.
Air stack
One last exterior element worth mentioning, due to increasing popularity, is a fresh air intake stack. For use in hazardous areas where potentially toxic gases are present, a blast-resistant building equipped with a positively pressurized interior atmosphere will draw fresh air from a 12-foot-plus stack that rises above the potential cloud of hazardous gases. This protects occupants inside the blast-resistant building from being exposed to those gases.
For more information or to learn how to address hazards through the use of blast-resistant buildings, visit www.redguard.com or call (316) 554-9000 to speak to a regional area manager.