Spall and Breach Performance of High Strength Concrete

HPC and UHPC – Innovations in Material Concept for High

Tensile Strength and Ductility – Session 2

Jared L. Brown, P.E.

US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Objective
• Evaluate the ability of existing penetration mechanics methodologies to
predict the impact performance of reinforced concrete elements
impacted with a high-aspect ratio fragment
• Study the effect of compressive strength, fiber reinforcement, and
thickness on impact performance of reinforced concrete elements

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Background
• Evaluated spall and breach response of concretes when subjected to
impact from a high width-to-thickness (aspect) ratio fragment
• Shockwave induced by impact from this type of fragment can result in
spall and breach without target perforation

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Factors affecting spall and breach response
• Compressive Strength
• Thickness
• Fiber Reinforcement
Concrete mixtures tested
• Normal Strength Concrete (NSC)
• High Strength Concrete “A” (HSC-A)
• High Strength Concrete “B” (HSC-B)
• High Strength Concrete “B” with fiber reinforcement (HSC-B-F)
The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention
and Exposition and Exposition
Experimental Test Matrix
Material fc (ksi) Thickness (in.) Reinforcement
6 #3 at 8 in. O.C. each face
NSC 4.2 8 #3 at 6 in. O.C. each face
10 #3 at 4.75 in. O.C. each face
6 #3 at 8 in. O.C. each face
HSC-A 14.5 8 #3 at 6 in. O.C. each face
10 #3 at 4.75 in. O.C. each face
6 #3 at 8 in. O.C. each face
HSC-B 15.6 8 #3 at 6 in. O.C. each face
10 #3 at 4.75 in. O.C. each face
6 #3 at 8 in. O.C. each face
HSC-B-F 18.4 8 #3 at 6 in. O.C. each face
10 #3 at 4.75 in. O.C. each face

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Experimental Setup

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
 Experimental Results
Thickness 6 inch 8 inch 10 inch

Distal
Face Proximal Distal
Face Face

Impactor

Proximal
Face

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Damage Quantification
• Spall ImageJ Boundary

– Theoretical spall cone (CV-T)

• Image analysis (ImageJ) to determine spalled area
• Depth of spall physically measured

• Breach
– Area of breach throat (AT)
• Image analysis (ImageJ) to determine opening area

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Experimental Results
Material fc (ksi) Thickness (in.) CV-T (in.3) AT
6 --- 72
NSC 4.2 8 --- 61
10 722 ---
6 --- 60
HSC-A 14.5 8 --- 27
10 757 ---
6 --- 56
HSC-B 15.6 8 1,222 19
10 1,027 ---
6 --- 25
HSC-B-F 18.4 8 415 ---
10 0 ---

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition
Effect of Compressive Strength and Thickness on Breach
80

70

AVERAGE AT (in.2)
60

50

40 6-inch
30 8-inch

20

10

0
NSC HSC-A HSC-B

• Increased thickness and compressive strength results in decreased

breached area
The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention
and Exposition and Exposition
Effect of Compressive Strength on Spall
1050

Average CV-T (in.2) - 10 inch

1000

950

900

850

800

750

700
4.2 14.5 15.6
NSC HSC-A HSC-B

fc (ksi)

• Increased compressive strength results in increased spall

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention
and Exposition and Exposition
Effect of Fiber Reinforcement on Spall and Breach

• Fiber reinforcement decreases breach and spall response

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention
and Exposition and Exposition
Future work
• Further evaluation of material characteristics that affect spall
and breach
• Determine existing penetration relationship’s ability to predict
spall and breach performance due to plate fragment impact
• Investigate ability to predict breach by plate fragment from
established contact charge relationships
• Perform a parametric sensitivity analysis using a numerical
model calibrated to match experimental results
The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention
and Exposition and Exposition
Acknowledgements
• US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
• Isaac Howard, PhD, PE – Mississippi State University
• Bradley Foust, PhD, PE – ERDC
• Bowen Woodson – ERDC
• Andrew Barnes – ERDC
• Stephen Robert, PhD – ERDC
• Vincent Chiarito – U.S. Federal Highway Administration

The Concrete Convention The Concrete Convention

and Exposition and Exposition