Year

2008

Degree Name

Master of Engineering (Research)

Department

Faculty of Engineering

Abstract

Many older structures were designed for static loads but more recently there has been a growing awareness that some must be designed to resist both dynamic impact and static loads. An accidental impact load can be caused by mishaps in industry as well as accidents stemming from transportation or man-made disasters. Structural components can be subjected to a range of deliberate impact loads such as military activity or terrorist attacks. A large proportion of the surfaces of concrete structures are covered by reinforced concrete slabs. Slabs are often slender elements, which means they are vulnerable to flexural, shear, or a combination of both modes of failure when subjected to impact loading. There are a number of ways of predicting how an impact load will affect a concrete slab, some of which may be impractical or expensive but because there have been significant developments in technology, numerical techniques rather than experimental approaches have become popular methods for developing detailed responses. Furthermore, a numerical modelling for reinforced concrete slabs that are subjected to impact loads is a design concept that has not yet been realistically fully developed .Additionally, current codes are unable to suggest a clear and realistic approach. Nevertheless, a proven method for analysing and predicting possible failure mode is an essential requirement. Thus, the finite element package ABAQUS/Explicit as well as an experimental analyses was undertaken to examine the behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs subjected to impact loading.

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.