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New software helps architects safeguard buildings against bomb attacks

Following a spate of terrorist bombings in Europe and the USA – Oklahoma and the Paris Metro are just two recent examples – a computer software program has been working overtime recently, helping architects and engineers determine whether a building will collapse from a bomb attack.

Dr. Ronald J. Massa, a security engineer and president of Lorron Corporation in Burlington, Massachusetts (USA), designed the program, named BombCAD, which analyses and makes three-dimensional drawings of a building and simulates a bomb's effect, providing detailed estimates of injury and accidents.

"Almost everyone these days is investing in explosive detectors," he said. "Instead, we recommend what we call 'passive, permanent solutions' to make buildings secure against bomb blasts. That means no moving around and no people to hire – solutions like these are there for the life of the building. Laminated glass fulfills all these conditions perfectly".

"Laminated glass is often perceived, mistakenly, as an expensive solution but when you consider the life cycle cost, laminated glass is cheaper than adhesive films which require replacement," said Dr. Massa. "With bomb blasts of a certain magnitude, the lites delaminate from the films and, when they fall from a 30-floor building, are just as lethal as simple, annealed glass. Laminated safety glass is the answer."