Numerical study on dynamic properties of rubberised concrete with different rubber contents

As a green environmentally-friendly material, rubberised concrete (RuC), which has the characteristics of low elastic modulus, large deformation capacity, high damping, good energy dissipation and good crack resistance, has attracted extensive attention and research in the civil engineering discipline. However, most of existing studies are based on experimental tests on RuC material properties, and there has been no numerical study based on meso-scale modelling of RuC yet. To more comprehensively investigate the RuC dynamic material properties without conducting intensive experimental tests, this study developed a high-fidelity meso-scale model considering coarse and fine aggregates and rubber crumbs to numerically investigate the mechanical properties of rubberised concrete under different strain rates. The meso-scale model was verified against both quasi-static compressive testing data and Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) dynamic testing data. Using the verified numerical model, the dynamic properties of rubberised concrete with various rubber content (0%–30%) under different strain rates were studied. The numerical results show that the developed meso-scale model can use to predict the static and dynamic properties of rubberised concrete with high accuracy. The dynamic compressive strength of the rubberised concrete increases with the increment of the strain rate, and the strain rate sensitivity increases with the rubber content ranging from 0 to 30%. Based on intensive numerical simulation data, empirical DIFs is used as a function of strain rate and rubber content to predict the dynamic strength of rubberised concrete.