Comparative numerical and experimental study of projectile impact on reinforced concrete

Concrete structures in military areas are subject to projectile impact both as a result of direct fire and in the form of splinters from explosives. These structures may be damaged, resulting in partial loss of integrity, but must leave the objects or individuals within them unharmed to the largest extent possible. The degree of damage depends on a variety of factors relating to the projectile, including its mass, geometry, impact velocity, trajectory and material properties. A number of controllable factors also relate to the characteristics of the concrete structure itself and the reinforcing material used to produce barriers. In order to analyse the structural response and optimize design parameters, various dynamics simulations have been performed in this work relating to projectile impact on concrete structures. To correctly model the impact, both non-linear material response and progressive finite element erosion have been taken into account. The numerical results have been discussed and compared with experimental results for three different impact scenarios, with good alignment achieved in terms of both penetration depth and crater size. This correspondence also demonstrated the pertinence of a specific material model, the Riedel-Hiermaier-Thoma (RHT) model within the LS Dyna FEM software package, in guiding and interpreting physical experiments in the case of impulsive projectile loading and penetration of concrete. The alignment between experiments and simulations also confirmed the robustness of the material model, specifically selected for this particular application.