Pressure-impulse diagram with multiple failure modes of one-way reinforced concrete slab under blast loading using SDOF method

Two loosely coupled single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems were used to model the flexural and direct shear responses of one-way reinforced concrete slabs subjected to explosive loading. Blast test results show that the SDOF systems are accurate in predicting the failure mode of the slab under blast loads by incorporating the effects of the strain rate effect caused by rapid load application. Based on different damage criteria, pressure-impulse (P-I) diagrams of the two failure modes were analyzed with the SDOF systems. The effects of span length, concrete strength, and reinforcement ratio of the slab on the P-I diagram were also investigated. Results indicate that a slab tends to fail in direct shear mode when it is of a smaller span length and tends to fail in flexure mode when it is of a larger span length. With the increase of the concrete strength or reinforced ratio, both the flexure and shear capacity increase. Based on numerical results, a simplified method and a semi analytical equation for deriving the P-I diagram are proposed for different failure modes and damage levels.

Damage analysis of POZD coated square reinforced concrete slab under contact blast

High efficiency, environmental protection and sustainability have become the main theme of the development of the protection engineering, requiring that the components not only meet the basic functions, but also have chemical properties such as acid and alkali corrosion resistance and aging resistance. Polyisocyanate-oxazodone(POZD) polymer has the above characteristics, it also has the advantages of strong toughness, high strength and high elongation. The concrete slab sprayed with POZD material has excellent anti-blast performance. In order to explore the damage characteristics of POZD sprayed concrete slabs under the action of contact explosion thoroughly, the contact explosion test of POZD concrete slabs with different charges were carried out. On the basis of experimental verification,numerical simulation were used to study the influence of the thickness of the POZD on the blast resistance of the concrete slab. According to the test and numerical simulation results that as the thickness of the coating increases, the anti-blast performance of the concrete slab gradually increases,and the TNT equivalent required for critical failure is larger. Based on the above analysis, empirical expressions on normalized crater diameter, the normalized spall diameter and normalized spall diameter are obtained.

Numerical study on local failures of reinforced concrete slabs against underwater close-in explosions

Reinforced concrete(RC)slabs are the primary load-carrying member of underwater facilities.They can suffer severe local failures such as cratering,spalling,or breaching as a result of underwater close-in(UWCI)explosions.In this study,we established a fully validated high-fidelity finite element analysis approach to precisely reproduce the local failures of RC slabs after a UWCI explosion.A recently proposed dynamic constitutive model is used to describe wet concrete.The effects of free water content on the material properties,including the tensile/compressive strength,elastic modulus,strain rate effect,failure strength surface,and equation of state,are comprehensively calibrated based on existing test data.The calibrated material parameters are then verified by a single-element test.A high-fidelity finite element analysis(FEA)approach of an RC slab subjected to a UWCI explosion is established using an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian(ALE)algorithm.Simulating previous UWCI explosion tests on RC orifice targets and underwater contact explosion tests on saturated concrete slabs showed that the established FEA approach could accurately reproduce the pressure-time history in water and damage patterns,including the cracking,cratering,and spalling,of the RC orifice target and saturated concrete slab.Furthermore,parametric studies conducted by simulating an RC slab subjected to a UWCI explosion showed that:(i)the local failure of an RC slab enlarges with increased charge weight,reduced standoff distance,and reduced structural thickness;(ii)compared to a water-backed RC slab,an air-backed RC slab exhibits much more obvious local and structural failure.Lastly,to aid the anti-explosion design of relevant underwater facilities,based on over 90 simulation cases empirical formulae are summarized to predict local failure modes,i.e.,no spall,spall,and breach,of water-and air-backed RC slabs subjected to a UWCI explosion.

Lead spall velocity of fragments of ultra-high-performance concrete slabs under partially embedded cylindrical charge-induced explosion

When an explosion occurs close to or partially within the face of a concrete structure, fragments are rapidly launched from the opposite face of the structure owing to concrete spalling, posing a significant risk to nearby personnel and equipment. To study the lead fragment velocity of ultra-high-performance concrete(UHPC), partially embedded explosion experiments were performed on UHPC slabs of limited thickness using a cylindrical trinitrotoluene charge. The launch angles and velocities of the resulting fragments were the determined using images collected by high-speed camera to document the concrete spalling and fragment launching process. The results showed that UHPC slabs without fiber reinforcement had a fragment velocity distribution of 0-118.3 m/s, which are largely identical to that for a normal-strength concrete(NSC) slab. In addition, the fragment velocity was negatively correlated to the angle between the velocity vector and vertical direction. An empirical Eq. for the lead spall velocity of UHPC and NSC slabs was then proposed based on a large volume of existing experimental data.

Possible Collapse Mode for Slender Reinforced Concrete Plates Subjected to Blast Load

This paper discusses the collapse mode of thin reinforced concrete (RC) plates sub-jected to blast load. To extend the well known plastic-mode method to analyze, not only perfect-plastic plates , but also RC plates, it is needed to investigate the effect of material cracking on the collapse mode because the plate might have been cracked on both upper and lower surface before the plastic-mode fully develops, creating an unexpected type of collapse mode shape. A new fail-ure mode is proposed and verified by numerical analysis in this paper. The new mode is a result of the material cracking and has an un-negligible effect on the reaction mechanism of the RC plate to the blast load.

Spallation Mechanism of RC Slabs Under Contact Detonation

The spallation of the concrete slabs or walls resulting from contact detonation constitutes risk to the personnel and equipment inside the structures because of the high speed concrete fragments even though the overall structures or structural members are not destroyed completely. Correctly predicting the damage caused by any potential contact detonation can lead to better fortification design to withstand the blast Ioadings. It is therefore of great significance to study the mechanism involved in the spallation of concrete slabs and walls. Existing studies on this topic often employ simplified material models and 1D wave analysis, which cannot reproduce the realistic response in the spallation process. Numerical simulations are therefore carried out under different contact blast Ioadings in the free air using LS-DYNA. Sophisticated concrete and reinforcing bar material models are adopted, taking into account the strain rate effect on both tension and compression. The erosion technique is used to model the fracture and failure of materials under tensile stress. Full processes of the deformation and dynamic damage of reinforced concrete （RC） slabs and plain concrete slabs are thus observed realistically. It is noted that with the increase of quantity of explosive, the dimensions of damage crater increase and the slabs experience four different damage patterns, namely explosive crater, spalling, perforation, and punching. Comparison between the simulation results of plain concrete slabs and those of RC slabs show that reinforcing bars can enhance the integrity and shearing resistance of the slabs to a certain extent, and meanwhile attenuate the ejection velocity and decrease the size of the concrete fragments. Therefore, optimizing reinforcement arrangement can improve the anti-spallation capability of the slabs and walls to a certain extent.

Numerical Analysis of Dynamic Behavior of RC Slabs Under Blast Loading

In order to reduce economic and life losses due to terrorism or accidental explosion threats, reinforced concrete （RC） slabs of buildings need to he designed or retrofitted to resist blast loading. In this paper the dynamic behavior of RC slabs under blast loading and its influencing factors are studied. The numerical model of an RC slab subjected to blast loading is established using the explicit dynamic analysis software. Both the strain rate effect and the damage accumulation are taken into account in the material model. The dynamic responses of the RC slab subjected to blast loading are analyzed, and the influence of concrete strength, thickness and reinforcement ratio on the behavior of the RC slab under blast loading is numerically investigated. Based on the numerical results, some principles for blast-resistant design and retrofitting are proposed to improve the behavior of the RC slab subjected to blast loading.

Behavior of RC two-way slabs strengthened with CFRP-steel grid under concentrated loading

A novel composite technique of orthogonally bonding carbon fiber-reinforced polymer （CFRP） strips and steel strips is proposed to improve the performance of reinforced concrete （RC） structures based on co-working of CFRP strips and steel strips. To verify the effectiveness of the method for strengthening RC two-way slabs, seven flat slabs with the dimensions of i 500 mm x 1 500 mm x 70 mm and an internal reinforcement ratio of 0.22% were prepared and tested until failure under concentrated loading, of which one was unstrengthened, one was strengthened with CFRP strips bonded to its soffit making a grid pattern （termed the CFRP grid）, and five were strengthened with a hybrid grid of CFRP strips and steel strips in two orthogonal directions （termed the CFRP-steel grid） to the bottom with steel bolt anchorage. The investigation parameters are the strengthening method, the strip spacing （150, 200, and 250 mm） and the layers of CFRP strips （one layer, two layers, and three layers of CFRP strips are applied for CFRP-steel grid）. The experimental results show that the strengthening RC two-way slabs with CFRP-steel grid are effective in delaying concrete cracking and enhancing the load-carrying capacity and deformability in comparison to the CFRP grid strengthening. The yield-line analysis model is proposed to predict the load-carrying capacity of the strengthened slabs. The prediction results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Numerical study on explosion-induced fractures of reinforced concrete structure by beam-particle model

In the field of disaster prevention mitigation and protection engineering,it is important to identify the mechanical behaviors of reinforced concrete(RC)under explosive load by simulation.A three dimensional beam-particle model(BPM),which is suitable to simulate the fracture process of RC under explosive load,has been developed in the frame of discrete element method (DEM).In this model,only the elastic deformations of beams between concrete particles were considered.The matrix displacement method(MDM)was employed to describe the relationship between the deformation and forces of the beam.A fracture criterion expressed by stress was suggested to identify the state of the beam.A BPM for steel bar,which can simulate the deformation of steel bar under high loading rate,was also developed based on the Cowper-Symonds theory.A program has been coded using C++language.Experiments of RC slab under explosive load were carried out using the program.Good agreement was achieved between the experimental and simulated results.It is indicated that the proposed theoretical model can well simulate the fracture characteristics of RC slab under explosive load such as blasting pit formation,cracks extension, spallation formation,etc.

Engineering punching shear strength of flat slabs predicted by nature-inspired metaheuristic optimized regression system

Reinforced concrete(RC)flat slabs,a popular choice in construction due to their flexibility,are susceptible to sudden and brittle punching shear failure.Existing design methods often exhibit significant bias and variability.Accurate estimation of punching shear strength in RC flat slabs is crucial for effective concrete structure design and management.This study introduces a novel computation method,the jellyfish-least square support vector machine(JS-LSSVR)hybrid model,to predict punching shear strength.By combining machine learning(LSSVR)with jellyfish swarm(JS)intelligence,this hybrid model ensures precise and reliable predictions.The model’s development utilizes a real-world experimental data set.Comparison with seven established optimizers,including artificial bee colony(ABC),differential evolution(DE),genetic algorithm(GA),and others,as well as existing machine learning(ML)-based models and design codes,validates the superiority of the JS-LSSVR hybrid model.This innovative approach significantly enhances prediction accuracy,providing valuable support for civil engineers in estimating RC flat slab punching shear strength.

Applying the spectral stochastic finite element method in multiple-random field RC structures

This paper uses the spectral stochastic finite element method(SSFEM)for analyzing reinforced concrete(RC)beam/slab problems.In doing so,it presents a new framework to study how the correlation length of a random field(RF)with uncertain parameters will affect modeling uncertainties and reliability evaluations.It considers:1)different correlation lengths for uncertainty parameters,and 2)dead and live loads as well as the elasticity moduli of concrete and steel as a multi-dimensional RF in concrete structures.To show the SSFEM’s efficiency in the study of concrete structures and to evaluate the sensitivity of the correlation length effects in evaluating the reliability,two examples of RC beams and slabs have been investigated.According to the results,the RF correlation length is effective in modeling uncertainties and evaluating reliabilities;the longer the correlation length,the greater the dispersion range of the structure response and the higher the failure probability.