Microstructural Response of Shock-Loaded Concrete, Mortar, and Cementitious Composite Materials in a Shock Tube Setup
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31, Issue 4
Abstract
Microstructural changes in concrete, mortar, and cementitious composite material were investigated to determine the efficacy of these materials subjected to shock loading. An experimental methodology with the ability to generate reproducible shock waves of specified blast pressure and decay time was used to perform repeatable experiments in the range of trinitrotoluene (TNT) explosion that is unsafe for concrete columns as specified in the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) guidelines (38 kg TNT at 3.7 m). The changes in the pore volume fraction of the samples before and after shock loading were used to determine the efficacy of the materials subjected to shock loading. The study reveals that even though percentage increase in pore volume fraction before and after shock loading is highest for cementitious materials, its absolute value is low compared to that of control samples, thereby justifying the better performance of cementitious composite materials. Moreover, the size of the pores is also observed to be lower for cementitious composite samples compared to those of the and concrete samples after shock loading in comparison to the control materials in the study. The reason for the better performance of cementitious composite materials can be attributed to an increase in tensile ductility of the sample as a result of fiber addition. Apart from development of a new cementitious material for blast load mitigation, the study also demonstrates the need to consider pore size distribution in equations relating pore volume fraction to strength.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Future of Cities project (Project code: ECI) under Ministry of Human Resource Development and Defense and Research Development Organization, India. The authors would like to acknowledge the support of numerous staff members at the Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shockwave Research at Aerospace Engineering Department, IISC Bangalore, and Material Science Centre and Central Research Facility, IIT Kharagpur, for conducting different tests and the MicroCT investigation study. The authors would also like to acknowledge Mr. Abir Dutta, Doctoral Research Scholar, School of Medical Science and Technology, IIT Kharagpur, for his support in the image processing procedure. The first and second authors are grateful to IIT Kharagpur and IISC Bangalore, respectively, for their doctoral fellowship.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 31 • Issue 4 • April 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 11, 2018
Accepted: Sep 27, 2018
Published online: Feb 14, 2019
Published in print: Apr 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Jul 14, 2019
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