Presented by: Husham Almansour, National Research Council Canada
Comparison of Damage Mechanisms of CFRP-Strengthened Reinforced Concrete Columns Subjected to Blast, Impact, and Quasi-Static Loads, by Husham Almansour, National Research Council Canada
The dramatic global terrorist events that occurred in recent years in which large number of critical structures have been targeted raised the need among the structural engineering community to better understand the performance of reinforced concrete buildings when exposed to blast or high-speed impact threats. Columns are the most critical elements in structural systems and mainly designed to resist gravity loads and in most buildings the effect of blast and impact loads are not considered in the design stage. However, the failure of a column during an explosion event or a high-speed mass attack could lead to a progressive collapse of the entire structure. In this study, the effects of blast and hard-surface impact loads on the structural performance, damage and failure mechanisms of RC columns are investigated. Several half-scale column specimens are tested under blast or impact loads using shock tube and impact loading system. On the other hand, similar specimens are tested under uniformly distributed or concentrated quasi-static loads with boundary conditions similar to those specimens tested under dynamic loads. Some of the specimens are non-strengthened while others are strengthened by CFRP laminates. The stages of damage mechanisms, load deformations and other structural performance relationships are to be investigated and reported.
