Preliminary investigation on the behaviour of RC panels with polymer coatings under blast loads

This paper presents the review and preliminary investigations on the use of polymer coatings to enhance the blast resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. A RC panel with dimensions of 1190 mm x 2190 mm and thickness of 140 mm was constructed, and tested under full scale blast conditions in Woomera, South Australia in March 2007. The same panel was then modelled with an explicit finite element (FE) code, to simulate the experimental testing. Subsequently, modified designs of the panel were modelled by applying polyurea coatings in order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed retrofitting technique in enhancing the blast resistance of the RC panels. The findings of the FE analysis indicate that RC panels coated with polyurea perform much better than the unretrofitted RC panel under the blast loading conditions. Besides, the resistance of the panels to blast effects were improved when the thickness of the polyurea coating was increased. Subsequent investigations, both experimentally and analytically are currently being undertaken to validate the preliminary findings as well as to further optimise the technique.