Title:
Effects of High-Strength Materials on Blast Response of Reinforced Concrete Panels
Author(s):
Stephen D. Robert, Carol F. Johnson, and Stanley C. Woodson
Publication:
Symposium Paper
Volume:
281
Issue:
Appears on pages(s):
1-16
Keywords:
high strength concrete; HSLA-V steel; reinforced concrete wall panels; dynamic blast testing
DOI:
10.14359/51683610
Date:
12/27/2011
Abstract:
Concrete structures designed to meet blast criteria often require substantial increases in structural system size, weight, and cost when using conventional materials, but high-strength materials may offer a way to mitigate these increases while achieving desired performance levels. The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Vicksburg, Mississippi, investigated the effects of using High Strength Low Alloy vanadium microalloyed steel (HSLA-V steel) reinforcing bar coupled with high-strength concrete as a structural system. The combination of high-strength portland cement concrete (HSPCC) and HSLA-V steel can improve a component’s ability to satisfy a given blast resistance criteria while allowing a more efficient structural design than can be achieved with conventional materials. Vanadium is widely used as an alloying element in steel production. Micro-alloying vanadium with steel reinforcing bar contributes to higher yield strengths than can be achieved with traditional Grade 60 rebar, without compromising ductility or formability. The investigators performed dynamic testing of one-third scale reinforced concrete panels using the ERDC Blast Load Simulator (BLS). The panels consisted of double-mat conventional Grade-60 rebar or HSLA-V steel rebar in combination with 4-ksi (27.6 Mpa) or 15-ksi (103 Mpa) concrete. Tests were performed using blast loads to determine the performance of simply-supported concrete panels constructed from different combinations of reinforcing steel and concrete. Measured properties included center-span deflection, average blast pressure, and average impulse. The 4-ksi (27.6 Mpa) concrete in combination with HSLA-V steel rebar provided the best alternative to the use of only high-strength materials, but provided a lower level of blast protection. Permission to publish this paper was granted by the Director of the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.