Experimental and numerical investigation of impact behavior of reinforced concrete slab with different support conditions

Reinforced concrete (RC) slabs may be subjected to impulsive dynamic loads such as blast and impact during their service period. Many studies related to the impact behavior of RC slabs have been presented. However, comprehensive studies where the effect of the support conditions on the impact behavior of RC slabs has been investigated are still limited. Thus, this study has focused on the effects of the support types and the support layouts on the dynamic responses and the failure modes of RC slabs subjected to impact loads. In the first part of the study, 9 two-way RC slabs with various support layouts composed of fixed and hinged supports were tested under impact load via the drop-weight test setup. Two different input impact energies were transmitted to RC slabs during impact loading. The time histories of the accelerations and displacements occurred in RC slabs, and the impact loads acting on RC slabs were recorded. The crack patterns due to the impact load were observed. The dynamic responses obtained by experiments have been interpreted in detail. In the second part, a detailed finite element procedure in which explicit dynamic analysis is performed has been introduced for verification of the experimental results. Good agreement between the experimental and the numerical results has been demonstrated. It has been concluded that proposed finite element procedures can be used for evaluation of the dynamic responses and failure modes of RC slabs under low-velocity impact load.