Conclusions from experimental testing of blast resistance of FRC and RC bridge decks

• Published in: International journal of impact engineering 2013-09, Vol.59, p.18-28
• Main Authors: Foglar, Marek, Kovar, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Army; Blast resistance; Bridges (structures); Computer simulation; Fiber-reinforced concrete; High performance concrete; Infrastructure; Reinforced concrete; Slabs; TNT
• ISSN: 0734-743X; 1879-3509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2013.03.008

According to recent publications, from 2005 to 2008 there were more than 13,000 terrorist attacks around the world, which took more than 73,000 human lives. The attacks were targeted mainly on the technical and civic infrastructure, such as governmental buildings and bridges, etc. Due to improved ductility, fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) shows better performance under blast and impact loading compared to conventionally reinforced concrete. Field tests of FRC and reinforced concrete specimens were performed in cooperation with the Czech Army corps and Police of the Czech Republic in the military training area Boletice. The tests were performed using real scale reinforced concrete precast slabs with varying fiber content and concrete strength class and 25 kg of TNT charges placed in a distance from the slab for better simulation of real in-situ conditions. This paper presents conclusions from two sets of tests and results of their numerical evaluation. •Beneficiary effect of added fibers on blast performance of the specimens.•Volume of the debris reduced, character of the specimen failure changed to ductile.•Beneficiary effect of increased concrete compressive strength on blast performance.•The combination of fibers and increased compressive strength proved effectiveness.