A Comparative Study on Blast-Resistant Performance of Steel and PVA Fiber-Reinforced Concrete: Experimental and Numerical Analyses

Abstract

This paper deals with the blast-resistant performance of steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber-reinforced concrete (PVA-FRC) panels with a contact detonation test both experimentally and numerically. With 2% fiber volumetric content, SFRC and PVA-FRC specimens were prepared and comparatively tested in comparison with plain concrete (PC). SFRC was found to exhibit better blast-resistant performance than PVA-FRC. The dynamic mechanical responses of FRC panels were numerically studied with Lattice Discrete Particle Model-Fiber (LDPM-F) which was recently developed to simulate the meso-structure of quasi-brittle materials. The effect of dispersed fibers was also introduced in this discrete model as a natural extension. Calibration of LDPM-F model parameters was achieved by fitting the compression and bending responses. A numerical model of FRC contact detonation was then validated against the blast test results in terms of damage modes and crater dimensions. Finally, FRC panels with different fiber volumetric fractions (e.g., 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5%) under blast loadings were further investigated with the validated LDPM-F blast model. The numerical predictions shed some light on the fiber content effect on the FRC blast resistance performance.

Study of SPRC Impact Resistance Based on the Weibull Distribution and the Response Surface Method

“…Afroughsabet et al [ 39 ] found that, with the incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol fibers, the dry shrinkage of concrete during precuring significantly decreased. Chen et al [ 40 ] found that the incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol fibers significantly enhanced the blast resistance of concrete. Zhao et al [ 41 ] placed polyvinyl-alcohol-fiber concrete in a freeze–thaw environment and subjected samples to a sulfate attack in a seawater environment.…”

Experimental study on mechanical behaviors of polyoxymethylene woven tube-reinforced cementitious composites

“…As an important material for infrastructure construction and civil engineering, the cementitious composite exhibits high compressive strength but low tensile strength and poor impact resistance. 1,2 Ultra-highperformance cementitious material has a higher strength, but still features obvious brittleness. 3 In order to improve the mechanical properties of cementitious material, steel fibers 4,5 are used as reinforcements, but they are easily corroded, 6 which will shorten the service life of the concrete.…”

“…As an important material for infrastructure construction and civil engineering, the cementitious composite exhibits high compressive strength but low tensile strength and poor impact resistance. 1,2 Ultra-high-performance cementitious material has a higher strength, but still features obvious brittleness. 3…”

Numerical Study of Concrete

“…Phutthimethakul et al [18] used flue gas desulfurization gypsum, construction and demolition waste, and oil palm waste trunks to produce concrete bricks. Chen et al [19] experimentally and numerically studied the blast-resistant performance of steel fiber-reinforced concrete and polyvinyl alcohol fiber-reinforced concrete panels with a contact detonation test.…”