Failure analytical model of reinforced concrete slab under impact loading

Abstract A failure analytical model was developed to assess the characteristics of reinforced concrete slabs under oblique perforation by a rigid projectile in three stages: initial cratering, tunneling and shear plugging. The energy dissipation for the initial cratering and tunneling was obtained by integrating the axial resistance force along the penetration direction, and for shear plugging using a new method considering the reinforcement. Analytical expressions for the failure characteristics of reinforced concrete slabs were obtained using energy methods. Projectile perforation experiments were conducted for thick concrete and reinforced concretes slabs and the damage size was measured. The theoretical predictions closely agreed with the experimental results and a parametric analysis of the slab failure characteristics were also discussed.