Home / Tools

Engineering Tools

PNH writes its own analysis tools so that every number in a report can be traced back to its inputs. Screening tools inform the design; an engineer-reviewed report decides it.

How the tools fit together
How PNH's tools fit together: CORDON risk, VECTOR speed, VECTOR-D delay and SDOF response, leading to an engineer-reviewed reportFlow from CORDON, which grades which threats matter, to VECTOR, which solves the speed a vehicle can reach at each barrier line, to VECTOR-D, which screens how long a rated line holds against repeated impacts, to the SDOF tool for structural response, ending in an engineer-reviewed report. STEP 1 CORDON Which threats matter here, and how much? OUTPUT A grade from AAA to D and ranked measures STEP 2 VECTOR How hard can a vehicle hit the line? OUTPUT Speed and required rating at each barrier line STEP 3 VECTOR-D How long will the line hold? OUTPUT A delay band to compare with response time STEP 4 SDOF tool How will the structure respond? OUTPUT Member response for blast and impact Engineer-reviewed report Where design decisions are made Screening tools inform the design. An engineer-reviewed report decides it.
Each tool answers one question in sequence; the engineer-reviewed report is where design decisions are made.

In-House Tools

SDOF blast and impact tool: wall panel idealized as a mass-spring-damper system
STRUCTURAL RESPONSE

SDOF Blast and Impact Tool

PNH's own single-degree-of-freedom engineering tool for the dynamic response of reinforced concrete, steel and masonry members under blast and impact, with pressure-impulse diagrams and support reactions for the engineer of record.

SABRE: barrier presence monitoring showing a displaced portable barrier
BARRIER PRESENCE MONITORING · IN DEVELOPMENT

SABRE™

Being developed to check that portable and temporary barriers stay where the plan puts them and tell operators what moved, where and when. Patent pending. It checks a layout; it does not verify crash performance. PNH does not specify it in its own designs.

SDOF, conceptually
Single-degree-of-freedom idealization, shown conceptually: a structural member under blast load idealized as a mass and a resistanceConceptual figure: a wall panel or beam under a blast pressure is idealized as an equivalent mass on a resistance spring. Three qualitative panels show a load that rises and decays in milliseconds, a resistance that is elastic and then plastic, and a displacement history with a peak response that is checked against the allowable damage. No values. FROM MEMBER TO MODEL Wall panel or beam under blast load idealized Mass Resistance Load over time Time Rises at once, decays quickly Resistance Displacement Elastic, then plastic Response Allowable Time Peak checked against allowable damage Conceptual only. No values. Analysis parameters stay with the engineer of record.
A member under blast is idealized as a mass and a resistance; the peak response is checked against the allowable damage.