In this presentation, recent developments on the analysis and design of concrete hollow block walls subjected to blast loading at the UP Institute of Civil Engineering are presented. Blast phenomenon is reviewed and its idealization or implementation in codes, such as in ASCE/SEI 59-11 and the Unified Facilities Criteria, is also presented. Along with the analysis procedures making use of an equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) for one-way walls and Discrete Element Models, tools or programs developed by researchers were presented. These simple tools were developed to automate pressure computation and generation of models of walls and buildings taking into account types and properties of different materials used, and the changes in properties when subjected to large strains. It was shown that the numerical models were able to reasonably replicate experimental results from literature. For one-way walls, a procedure for optimal design making use a SDOF wall model subjected to blast loading was also presented. The proposed procedure considers the non-uniform pressure distribution for near-field surface blast loads. A procedure making use of proposed charts was shown to simplify the otherwise laborious design process. In conclusion, the presentation highlighted the following key contributions: (i.) methods for the analysis and design of structures subjected to blast loading, (ii.) tools useful in analysis and design, and (iii.) charts for design and performance evaluation of reinforced masonry walls.

[Youtuve Video Link: https://youtu.be/KPuYhKgApUc]