【2026 Blast Resistance Design】Building types that require blast resistance analysis

🚨 I. Core judgment criterion: Overpressure threshold. When determining whether blast resistance design is necessary, many engineers are most concerned with \"quantitative metrics\". Multiple recent standards establish clear \"red lines\": According to the \"Technical Specifications for Risk Classification and Control of Safe Production of Hazardous Chemicals\" (GB/T 45420-2025) and the \"Standards for Quantitative Analysis of Risks in Petrochemical Processes\" (SH/T 3226-2024), it is mandatory to implement blast-resistant design when the overpressure caused by explosive shock waves acting on a building is ≥ 6.9 kPa, or the impulse is ≥ 207 kPa·ms!

💡 Tip: This is the “minimum quantitative threshold” for determining whether blast-resistant design is necessary. In the explosion safety assessment (QRA), once the calculation results reach this threshold, blast-resistant design must be implemented immediately.

🏢 II. Six key regulatory guidelines: specific building types and regulatory requirements. In addition to quantitative thresholds, various regulations also provide clear definitions of the scenarios in which “which buildings require blast resistance analysis”. The specific requirements of the latest standards are as follows: 1. Hazardous chemicals enterprises: GB/T 45420-2025 Scope of application: Enterprises that produce hazardous chemicals. Buildings to be analyzed: buildings with concentrated personnel, mobile buildings used for inspection and maintenance activities, or other structures that require analysis. Regulatory provisions: “For buildings with concentrated personnel, mobile structures used for inspection and maintenance activities, or other construction works that require analysis, their layout, structure, and safety protection capabilities shall be analyzed and evaluated.” ”

2. Explosion resistance assessment for petrochemical enterprises: SH/T 3237-2025 Scope of application: Buildings in petrochemical enterprises. Buildings to be analyzed: Defined as “target buildings,” mainly including buildings with concentrated populations and those of significant functional importance. Buildings of functional importance include: ① Buildings designed for emergency shelter and rescue operations ； ② Buildings that are crucial for ensuring the proper operation of protective devices ； ③ Other buildings that have a significant economic impact on enterprises.

3. Petrochemical fire protection design: GB 50160-2008 (2018 edition). Scope of application: Petrochemical enterprises. Buildings to be analyzed: central control room, control room located in the equipment area, and manned cabinet room. Regulatory provision: “The central control room shall determine whether blast resistance design is required based on the explosion risk assessment... Control rooms located in the plant area and manned cabinet rooms should be designed to be blast-resistant.” ”

4. Design of petrochemical control rooms: SH/T 3006-2024 Scope of application: Control rooms, central control rooms, and on-site cabinet rooms in petrochemical plants. Buildings to be analyzed: Control rooms, central control rooms, and on-site cabinet rooms located in petrochemical facilities at risk of explosion. Regulatory provision: “For petrochemical plants with explosion hazards, the construction and structure of the control room building shall be designed based on the calculation and analysis results regarding blast resistance.” ”

5. Petrochemical explosion resistance design: GB/T 50779-2022 Scope of application: Newly built, expanded, or renovated petrochemical facilities. Core logic: This standard does not directly determine \"which buildings require such measures\", but rather specifies the technical requirements \"when blast resistance design is necessary\". Regulatory provision: “The blast resistance requirements for blast-resistant buildings, as well as the peak overpressure of the explosion shock wave and the duration of the positive pressure effect, shall be determined through a blast safety assessment.” ”(In other words: the prerequisite is to conduct an assessment first, and the results of that assessment determine the design parameters.)

6. Coal chemical engineering: GB 51428-2021 Scope of application: Coal chemical engineering projects. Buildings to be analyzed: Central control rooms, regional control rooms, and instrument cabinet rooms located adjacent to buildings, equipment, storage tanks, etc., that pose an explosion risk. Regulatory provision: “When the central control room, regional control rooms, and instrument cabinet rooms are located adjacent to buildings, equipment, storage tanks, etc. that are prone to explosion, it is necessary to determine whether blast resistance requirements are needed based on an explosion risk assessment.” ”

📊 III. Summary and Comparison: Clarifying Differences in Standards The core logic of the aforementioned standards is summarized in the table below.

⚠️ IV. Key Differences to Note: In the actual implementation of projects, different standards place emphasis on various aspects; it is necessary to pay special attention to the following three differences: 1. “Quantitative thresholds” versus “risk/importance”. GB/T 45420 and SH/T 3226 specify clear quantitative thresholds (6.9 kPa / 207 kPa·ms), which represent the minimum requirements for explosion resistance design. SH/T 3237 and GB 50160 focus more on making comprehensive judgments based on \"explosion risk\" and \"building importance (such as whether people are concentrated there and whether the function is critical)\“.