FIBER REINFORCED HIGH STRENGTH CONCRETE WITH CELLULAR STEEL SANDWICH COMPOSITE PANEL FOR BLAST AND IMPACT MITIGATION

Abstract

The study investigated the performance of concrete-steel composite panels subjected to static and dynamic loading. The panel consists of fibre-reinforced high strength concrete overlaid on top of a specially configured steel sandwich, which function to dissipate the imparted kinetic energy. Parametric studies were carried out utilizing two types of steel sandwich core structure (bended and straight type) as well as various concrete materials: normal strength concrete (NSC) 60 MPa, high strength concrete (HSC) 110 MPa and fibre reinforced high strength concrete (FRHSC) 110 MPa. The response of the EASP against three point static bending, drop weight impact and 5kg TNT blast loading was obtained through experimental tests. Finite element simulation using the LS-Dyna software was used to model various types of panel when subjected to loading in the three phase tests. The combination of fibre reinforced high strength concrete and steel sandwich structure demonstrated good potential for use as blast and impact mitigation protective panels with better weight-performance ratios and enhanced energy absorption properties.