Investigation into Damage Criterion and Failure Modes of RC Structures When Subjected to Extreme Dynamic Loads

Abstract

Reliable prediction of damage and failure in structural parts is a major challenge posed in engineering mechanics. Damage criterion is one of the most useful pieces of information about the RC structures when subjected to extreme dynamic loads. The damage index is the numerical approach to quantify the damage following a blast or an earthquake. The damage index was used to identify the capacity degradation of the structural elements under high strain rate loads. The few investigations conducted on evaluation of damage criterion and mode of failure for RC structures when subjected to blast loads. Therefore, the overall aim of this research is to overview on the damage criterion and failure modes of RC structures when subjected to extreme dynamic loads. In this study different damage criterion are demonstrated for structural elements. The results indicate the damage criterion using residual axial load carrying capacity is the appropriate method to evaluate the damage degree in columns as well as three main damage modes are observed for RC columns when subjected to blast loads. Also the maximum support rotation is a suitable approach to determine the level of damage in RC panel and slabs. The data collected from this research are being used to improve the knowledge of how structures will respond to a blast event, and improve analytical models for predicting the level of damage in concrete structures.