The structural response of a reinforced concrete specimen subjected to adjacent blast loading

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the field tests of FRC and reinforced concrete specimens which were performed in cooperation with the Czech Army corps in the military training area Boletice. The tests were performed using real scale reinforced concrete precast slabs (6×1.5×0.3 m) with varying fibre content, fibre type, fibre strength and concrete strength class and 25 kg of TNT charges placed at a distance from the slab for better simulation of real in-situ conditions. The slabs were recorded using a high speed framing camera during the blast loading. The instrumentation enabled us to study the propagation of the blast shock wave through the material, propagation of the cracks on the soffit of the specimen and the final collapse of the middle part of the slab exposed to blast loading. The sequence of the structural behaviour is documented in detail and verified by numerical modelling using the LS-DYNA solver. © 2014 WIT Press.