Elevated Temperature Behavior of Impact-Induced Partially Damaged Concrete

Abstract

Designing protective structures capable of withstanding the combined extreme actions of impact/blast and fire necessitates the accurate prediction of material properties under the coupled effects of high-strain-rate and subsequent elevated temperature loadings. An extensive experimental program was being carried out in the Civil Engineering Laboratories at Monash University to investigate the postimpact fire properties of plain self-compacting concrete (SCC) material and the results are presented in this paper. This will help in evaluating whether partially damaged concrete elements can further sustain additional stresses in case of a subsequent fire outbreak. Specimens have undergone interrupted high-strain-rate compressive loading, controlled locally at defined levels of axial displacement, to account for different deformation states. Results indicate that the mechanical behavior of concrete subject to post-impact fire scenarios is dependent on the rate of loading, the damage history and the fire temperature to which it is subsequently exposed.