Analytical and numerical study of concrete slabs reinforced by steel rebars and perforated steel plates under blast loading

Civilian buildings have been imposed to blast loading, resulting in irrecoverable damages and casualties. This paper studies the analytical and numerical performance of concrete slabs reinforced by Conventional Steel Rebars and Perforated Steel Plates based on the values recommended by ASCE Blast-Resistant and nonlinear Finite Element Analysis performed in Abaqus. ASCE Blast-Resistant proposes the equations covering the burst of any explosive materials, while Abaqus uses the TNT equivalent mass method. This study uses PSP as an alternative to CSR in concrete slabs because PSPs are more integrated with surrounding concrete than CSRs due to the particular geometry of the holes. In the analytical phase, based on ASCE Blast-Resistant, the nonlinear performance of the rectangular concrete slab reinforced with CSR under blast loading was determined. Then, in the numerical step, the square concrete slab reinforced with CSR subjected to blast loading was simulated and verified with the literature results. Furthermore, a nonlinear finite element simulation of the rectangular concrete slab was performed to validate the modeling. Moreover, the simulation results of the rectangular slab were compared with the analytical results calculated based on ASCE Blast-Resistant, revealing that the equivalent mass method used in Abaqus accurately simulates the behavior of the reinforced concrete slab under blast loading. Finally, CSRs were replaced by PSPs with an equal volume in the rectangular concrete slab to compare their performance showing that PSPs with equal volume compared to CSRs can reduce the reinforced concrete slab's maximum displacement by up to 20% and decrease its following wavelength.