Behavior of RC beams under impact loading: Some new findings

The load recorded by the striking tup has been used to study the impact behavior of reinforced concrete beams. It was noted that this load could not be considered as the bending load experienced by the concrete beam. A portion of this load is used to accelerate the beam, and therefore, finding the exact bending load versus time response has been one of the most challenging tasks for impact researchers. To capture a true bending load versus time response a special test setup was designed and built. Tests showed a time lag between the maximum load indicated by the instrumented tup and the maximum load indicated by the instrumented supports. This time lag has confirmed that the inertial load effect must be taken into account. It was also found that beyond a certain impact velocity, the flexural load capacity of RC beams remained constant; further increases in stress rate did not increase their load carrying capacity.