Modeling and prediction of blast-Induced response in RC columns using graph neural networks

The efficient and accurate prediction of structural responses in reinforced concrete components under blast loading plays a critical role in emergency repair decision, structural strengthening, and protective design. Existing rapid methods for calculating structural response, such as analytical models and lightweight data-driven approaches, are computationally efficient. However, they are limited in accurately resolving three-dimensional structural response fields. A Graph Neural Network (GNN)-based model for the rapid prediction of damage in reinforced concrete (RC) columns was proposed in this paper. By leveraging the neighborhood node aggregation mechanism of GNNs, the model efficiently transmits mechanical correlation information within the structure. This allows the model to establish an end-to-end mapping between blast load inputs and the 3D structural response of the component, enabling rapid prediction of the column’s damage state. Furthermore, a multi-scenario feature coupling training strategy is introduced to significantly enhance the model’s generalization capability. This strategy enables the GNN model to effectively adapt to variations in key design and loading parameters, including reinforcement ratios, explosive charge weights, and blast locations. The results demonstrate that the proposed model achieves a prediction time of merely 55 milliseconds per instance, representing a computational speed improvement of four orders of magnitude over conventional methods; meanwhile, the prediction error remains below 3.33%. Furthermore, it delivers high-precision damage predictions across various blast scenarios. The proposed study successfully highlights the significant potential of GNN-based approaches in predicting blast-induced damage and offers an innovative, data-driven solution for rapid structural assessment and protective design in the field of blast engineering.