Experimental investigation on the structural response of RC slabs subjected to combined fire and blast

Experimental investigation on the structural response of RC slabs subjected to combined fire and blast

Colombo, Matteo (Politecnico di Milano)
Martinelli, Paolo (Politecnico di Milano)
Arano, Assis (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU))
Øverli, Jan Arve (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU))
Hendriks, M.A.N. (TU Delft Applied Mechanics; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU))
Kanstad, Terje (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU))
di Prisco, Marco (Politecnico di Milano)

2021

Reinforced concrete (RC) submerged floating tunnels (SFTs) represent a possible solution for crossing wide, deep fjords, and is considered for the E39 highway route along the Norwegian west coast. With regard to SFTs, the specific accidental scenario that is under investigation is the combined action of fire and subsequent internal explosion, as this is a crucial safety design condition for this type of structure. To assess the structural performance of reinforced concrete structures under combined fire and blast actions, gas burner equipment and a shock tube device were used to generate high temperature and blast loading, respectively, on RC circular slabs. A proper set of instruments consisting of thermocouples embedded in the specimens, accelerometers and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) equipment made it possible to capture the behaviour of the slabs under the combined fire and blast actions and to distinguish the specific role of fire and blast. Simplified numerical tools such as an equivalent elastic single degree of freedom (SDOF) model and a linear elastic finite element (FE) model were used to interpret the experimental results. By considering all combinations of three fire exposure times and two shock waves, the effect of damage accumulation from a combined action of fire and subsequent internal explosion was mapped. A reliable benchmark for numerical models was obtained.

Blast loading
Fire exposure
Fire-blast interaction
High temperatures
RC slabs
Shock tube

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:69650566-4f51-47e2-8337-d090681b2e65

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2021.02.029

2021-09-05

2352-0124

Structures, 31, 1017-1030

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2021 Matteo Colombo, Paolo Martinelli, Assis Arano, Jan Arve Øverli, M.A.N. Hendriks, Terje Kanstad, Marco di Prisco