DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE - TESTS OF SLABS WITH A SHOCK-TUBE

This article presents the experimental program and first results of sh ock-tube tests on concrete slabs. It follows the description of the te st in Toutlemonde, F., Boulay, C. and Gourraud, C., 'Shock-tube tests of concrete slabs', Mater. Struct. 26 (1993) 38-42. The plan of experi ments carried out in 1991-1992 was performed to get better control of the shock (blast, impact, impulsive loading) resistance of concrete st ructures. Some conclusions are drawn concerning the role of free water (i.e., evaporable, or non-chemically bonded) in the pores of concrete , which can explain the loading rate effects that have been observed.