Performance of ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete plates under impact loads

The next generation of concrete, Ultra-High Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHP-FRC), exhibits exceptional mechanical characteristics. UHP-FRC has a compressive strength exceeding 150 MPa, tensile strength in the range of 8-12 MPa, and fracture energy of several orders of magnitudes of traditional concrete. The focus of this research is to investigate and analyze the advantage of using UHP - FRC in impact resistance structures. To achieve these goals, two experimental testing programs and major numerical investigations have been conducted. The material experimental investigation has been conducted to determine the effects of strain rate on UHP - FRC. Two parameters are investigated, namely: compressive strength (80, 110, 130, and 150 MPa); and steel fibre content (0, 1, 2, and 3%). Experimental results showed that the rate sensitivity decreases with the increase in the compressive strength ; and the dynamic enhancement of tensile strength is inversely proportional to the fibre content. The structural impact testing program focuses on the dynamic response of full - scale reinforced concrete plates as well as generating precise impact measurements. Twelve reinforced plates with identical dimensions are tested under high-mass low-velocity multi-impacts. The investigated parameters include: concrete type (NSC, HSC, and UHP - FRC), fibre volume content, and steel reinforcement ratio. The results showed that the use of UHP -FRC instead of NSC or HSC is able to change the failure mode from punching to pure flexural; and UHP -FRC containing 3% fibre has superior dynamic properties. For plates with identical steel reinforcement, the total impact energy of UHP-FRC plate containing 3% fibres is double the capacity of UHP - FRC plate containing 2% fibres , and 18 times the capacity of NSC plate. A three-dimensional finite element analysis has been performed using ABAQUS/Explicit to model multi-impacts on RC plates and the applicability is verified using existing experimental data. Concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model is adapted to define UHP - FRC. The CDP constitutive model parameters for the new material are calibrated through a series of parametric studies. Computed responses are sensitive to CDP parameters related to the tension, fracture energy, and expansion properties. The analytical results showed that the existing CDP model can predict the response and crack pattern of UHP - FRC reasonably well.