Because the behavior of a structure during a bomb attack or accidental blast is critical to the integrity of the structure and the safety of its inhabitants, understanding the failure mechanisms is what will aid in reducing casualties and protecting investments.

ASI applies a one-of-a-kind structural analysis technology to analyze and simulate the nonlinear behavior of structures during blast events. This analyzing and visualizing of the reaction of structural and nonstructural elements helps both in the design of better performing structures and in the determination of the upgrades necessary for mitigating losses.

ASI’s Applied Element Method (AEM) based Extreme Loading^® Technology is the only analysis method for accurately examining the behavior of a structure during blast and the structure’s resultant failure points. By being able to analyze and predict the nonlinear and failure modes of structures, ASI’s engineers can:

• Test the global performance of a structure and its envelope
• Identify weaknesses and potential upgrades
• Determine failure and casualty mechanisms

ASI’s blast analysis is based on solid engineering models that include the following:

• Blast modeling derived from military design codes
• Precise structural modeling that includes structural and non-structural components

Blast analysis services include:

• Blast performance analysis
• Advanced Applied Element analysis
• Debris modeling
• Structural upgrades and retrofits for blast resistance
• Window upgrades for the reduction of blast effects
• Structural security assessment.

For More Details Visit www.appliedscienceint.com

On July 24, 2008 Applied Science International’s Extreme Loading® for Structures software was assigned Designation Status for Anti-Terrorism under the SAFETY Act by the Department of Homeland Security.

The Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (SAFETY Act) – “provides important legal liability protections for providers of Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technologies – whether they are products or services. The goal of the SAFETY Act is to encourage the development and deployment of new and innovative anti-terrorism products and services by providing liability protections. For more details, see the SAFETY Act Final Rule.

Extreme Loading® technology is based on ASI’s implementation of the Applied Element Method (AEM), a breakthrough development which simulates automatic crack initiation, separation of materials, and collision of materials closer to reality than any other structural analysis technology.  Extreme Loading® for Structures (ELS) is a one of a kind tool currently used for physical security assessments, advanced structural engineering applications including blast analysis, progressive collapse analysis, seismic analysis, forensic analysis, performance based design, and demolition planning and prediction.

ELS can be used to analyze a wide variety of structures including bridges, towers, and sports arenas; a broad range of building materials; and different phases of structural design.  ELS visuals allow first responders to become integral participants in the development of threat scenarios for crisis management planning.  The software aids in the design, analysis, protection, retrofit and demolition of structures, and it is the only structural analysis tool that provides the capability to simulate everything from a local failure to the global response of the structure.  A Special Report addressing ASI’s technology issued by the Homeland Defense Journal and titled “Changing the Known Built World” is available for downloading at:

Changing the Known Built World  

For more information about Applied Science International’s (ASI) services, visit: http://appliedscienceint.com/ or Extreme Loading® for Structures (ELS) software, visit: http://www.extremeloading.com. 

The Safety Act “Designation” is pursuant to 6 U.S.C. § 441-444 (the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002, or "SAFETY Act") and 6 C.F.R. Part 25 (Regulations to Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies):

Extreme Loading® Technology was used to predict the collapse of St. Francis Hospital scheduled for demolition in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania last weekend. The building’s demise was historic to that locale, but for Applied Science International (ASI), the hallmark event is about the technology that showed the public what would happen beforehand – a new structural analysis technology now available to practicing engineers internationally.

Following close on the heels of its previous successes, Applied Science International’s proprietary Extreme Loading® technology has once again been used to allay contractor and civic concerns by precisely predicting the outcome of a major implosion. Just as it did previously with the demolition of the historic Charlotte Coliseum on June 3 of last year and the Stubbs Tower in Savannah, Georgia a few months ago, ASI accurately ran an engineered simulation of the event for the parties involved.

With St. Francis Hospital now in an uncertain, partially demolished state, ASI was called upon by the Pittsburgh-Allegheny County Sports and Exhibition Authority (SEA) to determine whether the structure was in eminent danger of collapse or safe enough to be entered so that explosive charges could be planted. ASI worked closely with SEA, Homrich Demolition (the prime contractor), and Dykon Explosive Demolition (the implosion subcontractor) to implement the planned demolition via an engineered simulation that coupled their demolition expertise with ASI’s analytical technology.

SEA released the engineered simulation to local media and news agencies for public viewing prior to the scheduled implosion, and with SEA’s concerns addressed, the go-ahead was given. Within a few thundering moments, St. Francis was reduced in a series of controlled explosions to a neatly stacked pile of rubble.

“The major factor here is not that the building came down as predicted; we were certain of that,” said ASI’s CEO Edward diGirolamo. “Rather, it was a chance for us to employ our 64-bit capability and all of the advantages it possesses. It was one of the largest and most comprehensive structural models we have run to date and we are very pleased with the results.”

While a demolition is a scheduled event, the same cannot be said of a terrorist attack, a hurricane, or an earthquake,” continued diGirolamo. “This predictive technology is based on the Applied Element Method, which was first developed at Tokyo University after the Kobe Earthquake claimed thousands of lives. The technology is now available as a diagnostic tool to answer the “What if” question before an event takes place, thereby allowing for the taking of preventative measures to mitigate the effects of a catastrophe, or as a forensic tool to answer the “What happened” question; regardless if that catastrophe was natural or man-made.”

Currently, ASI’s technology is used for homeland defense, physical security assessment, forensics, demolition planning, and structural analysis. It is now available for engineers to use in the engineering analysis of seismic, wind, collapse, progressive collapse and other extreme loading events. ASI’s technology is now available to practicing engineers and its analysis output provides visualizations of the structure’s behavior in a format that is easily understood by engineer and non-engineer alike (www.appliedscienceint.com).

ASI’s sister company TSNStudios is also involved, as the unprecedented realism generated by this software is making it an ideal fit for film production, entertainment and gaming industries. Combining the power of an engineered simulation and its export into the industry’s film and visual effects tools, makes this technology a real contender for the next blockbuster production where material separation, demolition and destruction effects are important (www.tsnstudios.com).

“We believe that ASI’s Extreme Loading® technology will eventually affect more than forty different fields of science where material separation is important to the outcome. Our experience with the demolition community has certainly contributed to the advancement of the science to understand the behavior of structures and collapse, and it is, in our opinion, the most ideally suited technology for the task.”  concluded diGirolamo.

In a continuation of Applied Science International’s commitment to support academic and research communities, Extreme Loading^® for Structures software has been made available to competitors in the National Progressive Collapse Resistance Competition. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Northeastern University, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, and FM Global, competitors including professionals, graduates, and undergraduates will be using analysis tools and their engineering sense to predict the progressive collapse resistance of a 2-D scaled physical model. With the help of Extreme Loading^® for Structures, participating teams will be developing analytical models, answering specific questions about the structure’s behavior, and predicting the response of the physical model. For more information or to participate, visit the competition home.

Raleigh, North Carolina June 2007 --- Applied Science International, LLC, a subsidiary of The Steel Network, Inc., opened a new era in engineering simulation with a dramatic demonstration of its breakthrough technology, the ability to accurately predict the progressive collapse of a structure prior to an actual implosion or other extreme loading threat (blast, earthquake, hurricane winds, etc.).

On June 3rd, the historic Charlotte Coliseum was demolished in a spectacular 13-second implosion, leaving only a pile of metal, concrete, and rubble to mark the spot where this celebrated structure once stood. What singled this event out from all other implosions, however, was the historic significance attached to its deconstruction. Because of the utilization of ASI’s revolutionary technology a demolition plan was fully simulated and the results were demonstrated to the developer and the general and demolition contractors before the implosion.

When asked about the drive behind the creation of this new technology, ASI Chief Executive Officer, Edward di Girolamo stated, “Our goal began almost 12 years ago with the desire to create a new technology that would be capable of completely redefining how buildings are designed, analyzed, constructed, protected and demolished.”

“By reinventing the approach currently used (one that was developed in the 1940’s), we have created the capability to predict and visualize a structure’s behavior in a manner found nowhere else.”

“This demonstration is the first time an actual full motion, virtual reality, engineering simulation has been created for a demolition beforehand. What most spectators saw and heard was a series of explosions, a dust cloud raised from the collapsing structure, and disappearance of the roof line behind the cloud. What ASI was able to demonstrate was the progressive collapse of the coliseum from start to finish and from every desired angle - both inside and outside of the building.

”The ramifications of this are staggering,” continued di Girolamo. “By utilizing this technology, we can analyze any structure, no matter how large or how small, predict how it will react to an external force, and then protect that structure from unnecessary damage.”

Today ASI applies its technology in construction design and analysis, in vulnerability assessment and risk mitigation planning, in forensics, and in deconstruction. ASI’s technology and this historic simulation were unveiled at the Homeland Defense Conference sponsored by the Homeland Defense Journal on June 27, 2007 to be followed by a Special Report in July 2007. The event in Charlotte not only demonstrates ASI’s plans to change the way engineers build, protect and demolish structures, it signals the onset of a new era in simulating the known built world.

Amazing structural engineers with the latest in advanced structural analysis technology at the Structures Congress has become an annual tradition for ASI. While those attending the technical sessions are hearing discussions on possible approaches to understanding the behavior of structures under extreme loads, ASI is at the exhibit hall demonstrating the solution.

ASI’s Extreme Loading Technology was well received by the best in the business who applauded it as “the only practical analytic method for analyzing and presenting the 3D behavior of structures under extreme loads.”

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting our customers face-to-face, having the opportunity to engage in technical discussions with experts in structural engineering from around the world, and anxiously look forward to speaking further with all of you in the year ahead.

And once again, thanks are in order to everyone who visited our booth and helped make this conference such a success.

ASI successfully participated in the National Demolition Association’s annual conference this year in Las Vegas. We were well received by the demolition community and to some, considered one of the highlights of the show. Demolition general contractors, government officials, building owners, demolition consultants, insurance agents and several of the world’s leading experts visited our booth and discussed our services.

Many were excited about using demolition simulations for their bids and proposals and to advertise their portfolio, improve safety, get approval of their plans in their region, and for educating future demolition experts.

We at ASI appreciate the warm welcome we received from the NDA and its participants. It was a very family oriented show and we felt like we were a part of it.

As appears in Vol. 5 Issue 3 of Homeland Defense Journal.

Applied Science International, LLC, Raleigh, N.C., has developed a new technology that models and simulates the behavior of structures subjected to explosions, earthquakes, hurricane force winds and progressive collapses. Collectively classified as extreme loading conditions, the amount and duration of the forces applied are what need to be understood in order to prevent disastrous consequences. Accurate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment is what ASI’s breakthrough technology provides in the face of both man-made and natural threats.

ASI developed the ability to create a near virtual reality scenario, allowing its clients to see a full motion video of what will happen when an event takes place, whether it’s a bomb within a building’s perimeter, an earthquake underneath it, or a hurricane assaulting it from the side. ASI’s Risk Assessment Service takes the guess work out of decision making by partnering with building owners, security providers, property management firms, structural engineers, insurance underwriters and demolition contractors to leverage expertise during the assessment process. ASI’s team of scientists and engineers has improved the risk assessment processes and progressive collapse guidance now available in FEMA, DoD and USACE publications.

ASI developed the Applied Element Method (AEM) to more closely approximate reality than the standard Finite Element Method (FEM). AEM simulations allow elements to separate during failure and collide with adjacent elements; the way it really happens. FEM simulations appear as melting plastic models with no separation of elements.

ASI can easily model a glass panel or multi-layered panels and connections and simulate behavior under extreme loads, contributing significantly to material selection, casualty assessment and wind-blown hazard analysis. ASI’s AEM-based tools model and simulate threat scenarios - in hours not days. This rapid-prototyping capability allows engineers and security firms to consider
performance-based design options more quickly and thoroughly - in days not weeks.

Visualizing predicted structural response brings a new level of understanding and informed decision making to constructing, retrofitting or securing a building through a modification of the structural design, a relocation of key assets, an extension of the building’s perimeter, a changing the of the glazing, or the implementation of new security procedures. For more information, visit www.appliedscienceint.com.