Samson AE building, Brandon, MB - mathematical modelling of building frame damage after a collision with a city transit bus

Supporting the client's insurance claim, Pro Dynamic brought up the concept of "soft projectile" to model the bus impact into the historical (1921) cast iron and brick building frame. The bus was knocked off its course by side impact of a runaway passenger car. Using data from published crash tests for both vehicles and Newtonian laws of motion, we were able to realistically re-create the event of collision.

In mathematical modelling or the building reaction, we introduced the concept of a two-stage response. On the first - "impact" - stage, a stress wave arises and passes through the structure. The masses don't have enough time to "swing" when the diaphragms are already bursting. The second stage of response is dynamic, using the "damaged" stiffnesses and the velocity field that was obtained as a result of the first phase of the calculation. The result was compared with the field evidence of damage and defended in an arbitration testimony.