Post-impact evaluation at RC plates with planar tomography and FEM

Due to the wide range of applications, the easy production and the large field of use, reinforced concrete (RC) is a widespread building material. This variety of applications is reflected in a wide range of physical material properties. Not only therefor it still is a technical challenge to provide all necessary test conditions for experimentally reproducing dynamic effects under impact loading of RC structures. In this paper we present investigations on the thicknesses of RC plates under low and medium high velocity impact loading by a flat-tipped impactor. The planar tomography setup at BAM is used to visualize the impact damage and to characterize the damage features such as cracks, scabbing and spalling. Further, the comparison of tomography results with those of an applied numeric simulation analysis is used to verify the numeric models for future damage prognosis under impact loading. Using the results of both, the tomographic as well as the FE analysis, different damage features were investigated and compared regarding their validity. Crack damage plays a leading part and the significance of summarized crack values as well as their distribution is analyzed. The total damage value but also the determined damage distribution both provide an input for describing damage as a function of the impactor velocity and plate thickness.