BEHAVIOR OF RC BEAM RETROFITTED USING ULTRA HIGH-PERFORMANCE CONCRETE UNDER IMPACT LOADS

Several new types of materials have recently been used as retrofitting materials for structural elements such as ultra-high performance concrete with steel fiber reinforcement (UHPFRC). These materials are used as jacking to enhance the strength and ductility reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Considerable attention has been focused on the response of retrofitted RC beam under static loads but the behavior of such beam under impact loading is somewhat lacking. Therefore, in this study, a 3-D finite element model (FEM) of retrofitted RC beams under impact loading using non-linear finite element software (ABAQUS) was investigated. Since experimental work on this topic is scarce, the FEM is validated using the results of retrofitted RC beam under static loads. The impact load was applied in ABAQUS as equivalent to an initial velocity of 2500 mm/s. A parametric study was carried out to study the flexural response of RC beams retrofitted with different thicknesses and strengthening configurations of UHPFRC under impact loading.