A study on the effects of an explosion in the Pantheon of Rome

Abstract : The response of an emblematic monumental structure, the Pantheon in Rome, to an internal blast is addressed. The analysis is a coupled solid-fluid numerical simulation done using JWL equation for the simulation of the blast event and considering the pre-existent cracks in the dome as well as the material nonlinearities of low-tensile strength concrete aggregates. We identify two main phenomena; a focalization of shock waves inside dome-vaulted like structures due to their tendency to concentrate the blast energy and the role played by the pre-existent cracks in the evolution of the structural damage.