Effect of Successive Impact Loads From a Drop Weight on a Reinforced Concrete Flat Slab

Abstract

Lebanon is one of the countries which are at high risk of experiencing rock falls. In order to ensure public safety, engineers must take into consideration this risk. In the past years, numerous researches were conducted on the behavior of horizontal structural elements, slabs, of different types under dynamic impact load. Reinforced concrete flat slabs are commonly used slabs in residential buildings. To build a profound understanding of the structural behavior of the slabs under such loadings, it is important to investigate the effect of energy dissipation on the equivalent impact force, mid-span deflection and damage pattern. In this study a sample reinforced concrete slab of 500 x 1000 x 100 mm dimensions is considered. The aim of this paper is to find how these factors vary with the increase in energy as the drop load resembling the real rock fall is left to drop freely from different heights 0.6 m and 1 m.