Papers abstract:

In this paper, an experimental study of the dynamic response of reinforced concrete (RC) members protected in different ways is presented. Two alternatives for the protection of RC members are designed and studied; classical steel jacketing and a new reinforced polyurethane sacrificial layer. The mitigation of shock and absorption of energy from the blast is studied with experimental methods. For comparison purposes, a RC member without protection is also tested and studied. As expected, the steel jacketing provided excellent protection reducing the maximum final deflection as well as reducing damage to the member. On the other hand, the proposed reinforced polyurethane protection performed reasonably well. The obtained results are useful for exploring new alternatives for the protection of RC columns as well as for the calibration of numerical codes.

Product Overview:
This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to setting up and running a finite element simulation of blast impact on reinforced concrete (RC) beams. The model incorporates embedded reinforcement bars and protective materials to analyze structural response under close-in explosive loads. The tutorial is based on validated experimental data, ensuring accuracy and real-world applicability. Key simulation steps include:

• Creating a 3D model of RC beams with embedded reinforcement.
• Assigning material properties, including JH2 concrete damage modeling.
• Defining blast interactions using an Incident Wave method for realistic detonation effects.
• Applying boundary conditions to simulate real-world constraints.
• Executing dynamic explicit simulations with an equivalent mass of 30 kg of TNT.
• Visualizing damage propagation and analyzing key indicators such as stress, strain, and fracture behavior.

In this tutorial, RC beams subjected to blast loads are simulated, based on data from the work of Codina et al.