Comparative study on performance of UHTCC and RPC thick panels under hard projectile impact loading

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study on the perforation resistance of thick panels made of the reactive powder concrete (RPC) and the ultra high toughness cementitious composites (UHTCC). Damage patterns of the target were measured, including the diameter and depth of the cratering and scabbing on the front and rear surfaces. Residual velocities of the projectiles were determined by a high speed camera. The test results showed 46 MPa UHTCC has superior resistance to the tensile damage induced cratering and scabbing while its penetration resistance is comparable to NC with a lower compressive strength (30 MPa). The 123 MPa RPC exhibits much higher penetration resistance than UHTCC and NC, and has improved performance over NC in resisting tensile damage. Besides, based on the framework of the Forrestal formula, a unified semi-analytical model is proposed which can predict the penetration and perforation ballistic parameters of thick concrete panel under projectile impact. Compared to the experimental observations, the proposed model predicts the residual velocity and penetration depth of this test with better results than existing models. Finally, the new model is applied to the available perforation tests of thick concrete panels, and its error used for relatively thin concrete panel is analyzed.