Introduction

Recent Terrorist Attacks

September 11 Bali bombings

Safeguarding Structures using Blast Resistant Concrete

Ongoing insurgency
Protect lives of men and women in uniform

Govinda Pandey

http://www.teachersparadise.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8524679/

Blast loading
Rapid release of energy Shock waves
Air blast Ground shocks

Blast loading

Blast wave pressure time profile

Blast resistance of concrete

Plain concrete
Weak in tension and flexure Cracking, fragmentation, spalling Poor blast resistance/unsafe

SIFCON
Produced by preplacing steel fibres in a mould to maximum capacity and filling with a fine-grained, cement-based slurry
Very high steel fibre content can be obtained Practical steel fibre content range 4-12% Steel fibre contents up to 27% reported in technical literature

Fibre reinforced concrete

Better flexural performance Poor workability Fibre content is limited (0.5-2% by volume)

Dramatic increase in strength, ductility and sustained load carrying capacity: (Shah and Balaguru, 1992)
Compressive strength: Indirect tensile strength: Flexural strength: 3 times greater 2 times greater 5 to 10 times greater

Objective
Study the application of SIFCON as blast resistant concrete Compare the performance of SIFCON with plain and SFRC

MIX DESIGNS
Plain concrete Plain slurry Conventional SFRC Mix (2% steel fibre dosage) SIFCON (5% steel fibre dosage) SIFCON (10% steel fibre dosage)

CASTING PROCESS
SFRC Australian Standard AS1012.8: Method for making and curing concrete Modified to account for the addition of specified steel fibre dosage.

CASTING PROCESS
SFRC
Maximum recommended steel fibre dosage Difficult to maintain consistent mixture Steel fibres tendency to ball Workability of concrete mix decreased dramatically

CASTING PROCESS
SIFCON
Steel fibres preplaced into moulds Level of difficulty in pre-placing steel fibres increased with increase in steel fibre dosage Up to 10% SIFCON Mix

METHODOLOGY
Standard Property Testing (28 Day):
Compressive Strength Flexural Tensile Strength Indirect Tensile Strength

Air Blast Testing:

Air Cannon (JCU Cyclone Testing Station) Direct impact test Quantitative analysis: Impact resistance of concrete Qualitative analysis: Level of debris, mode of failure, crack patterns and overall response and damage

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Compressive Strength

Compressive Strength

Compressive Strength Results Mix Design

1 2

Mix Type
Plain Concrete Conventional SFRC Cement-based slurry SIFCON SIFCON

Volumetric fibre dosage (%)

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Characteristic Compressive Strength (MPa)

36.64 36.28

3 4 5

5 10

46.54 50.96 53.00 Plain Concrete

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5% SIFCON
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Flexural Strength

Flexural Strength

Flexural Strength Results Mix Design Mix Type

Plain Concrete Conventional SFRC Cement-based slurry SIFCON SIFCON

Volumetric fibre dosage (%)

2 5 10

Ultimate Flexural Strength (MPa)

4.33 Plain Concrete 10.52 7.78 30.32 33.80

1 2 3 4 5

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10% SIFCON

Indirect Tensile Strength

AIR CANNON

Indirect Tensile Strength Results Mix Design

1 2 3 4 5

Mix Type
Plain Concrete Conventional SFRC Cement-based slurry SIFCON SIFCON

Volumetric fibre dosage (%)

2 5 10

Ultimate Indirect Tensile Strength (MPa)

3.25 > 7.07 4.06 > 7.07 > 7.07 Slab set up Air cannon

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CONCRETE
Missile Velocity:
8.74 m/s

CONCRETE

Missile Velocities:
21.30 m/s

Impact Force:
126 N

Impact Forces:
750 N

Diagonal cracking pattern Minimal fragmentation

Prominent diagonal cracking pattern Large amount of fragmentation Typical brittle concrete behaviour
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SFRC (2%)

SFRC (2%)

Initial Air Blast Missile Velocity:

16.02 m/s

Second Air Blast Missile Velocity:

24.12 m/s

Impact Force:
961 N

Impact Force:
424 N

Little visible cracking

Cracking

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Minimal crack propagation Missile punched the slab Punching shear failure Structural weakening due to initial air blast

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SIFCON (5%)

SIFCON (5%)

Missile Velocity:
24.56 m/s

Impact Force:
997 N
Cracking

Outstanding energy absorption capabilities

Absorbed impact force 8x greater than initial concrete slab

Fragmentation on rear side Minimal visible cracking on front side Missile Indentation

Indentation

Front view
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Rear view
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SIFCON (8.5%)

SIFCON (8.5%)

Missile Velocity:
~85 m/s
Cracking

Impact Force:
~11.9 kN

Outstanding energy absorption capabilities

Absorbed impact force almost 100x greater than initial concrete slab

Very minimal fragmentation on rear side Minimal visible cracking Slightly deeper missile indentation
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Fragmentation Indentation

Front view

Rear view
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Air Cannon

CONCLUSIONS
SIFCON has an outstanding impact resistance and hence can be as a blast resistant concrete.

Air Cannon Results Test No.

1 2 3 4a 4b 5 6

Mix Type
Concrete Concrete Concrete SFRC SFRC SIFCON SIFCON

Volumetric fibre dosage (%)

2 2 5 8.5

Pressure (kPa)
414 483 552 483 621 621 827

Velocity (m/s)
8.74 17.13 21.30 16.02 24.12 24.56 ~85

Impact Force (N)

126 485 750 424 961 997 ~11,937

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Acknowledgements
Leigh Ives (2007 thesis student) Tony Collister

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