Under high strain rates, the fracture behavior of concrete deviates significantly from the fracture behavior under static loads. Under tension loads, in principle, a mode-I fracture under static loads is changed to a mixed-mode fracture under dynamic loads. Additionally, the resistance of concrete appears to rise strongly, especially at very high strain rates, which is attributable to structural inertia rather than the material behavior. This project involves in studying the basic fracture behavior of concrete subjected to high rate loading using benchmark test specimen (e.g. Compact tension specimen, L-specimen). The dynamic fracture behavior was first investigated numerically using the finite element software MASA developed by Prof. Ozbolt at the University of Stuttgart and later experimentally verified through component tests. Further details can be obtained from:
Concrete Structures Under Impact
Investigating the actual reason behind the unique impact performance of concrete – inertial forces and rate sensitivity
Numerically studying the behavior of structural components subjected to impact loads
Experimental and numerical investigations on the performance of anchorages under impact loads
