Influence of moisture content on the concrete response under dynamic loading

Several researches have highlighted the influence of external environmental conditions (e.g. moisture and temperature) on the concrete response at different strain rates, however, limited data are available considering such factors. This paper experimentally assesses the compressive strain rate effects of concrete at different saturation levels. The experimental assessment is conducted on sixty-six specimens tested using the Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar. The results of the experimental program were compared against the Comite Euro-International du Beton (CEB) equations and calibration factors to account for the degree of saturation were introduced. Furthermore, the proposed calibrated equation was tested against a large database collected from the literature which showed more reliable predictions than the current CEB equation. The presented work aims to enrich the concrete database subjected to high strain rates and to facilitate reliable material predictions to be used in further numerical assessments.