The effect of assembling location on the performance of precast concrete beam under impact load

With incorporation of assembling joints, precast concrete beams could behave very differently in resisting both static and dynamic loads in comparison to conventional reinforced concrete beams. With no research available on the dynamic behavior of precast concrete beams under impact load, a combined experimental and numerical study is conducted to investigate the dynamic response of precast concrete beams under impact load. The results were also compared with reinforced concrete beams. Four groups of concrete beams were tested with all beams designed with the same reinforcement, but different assembling locations were considered for precast concrete beams. The effects of the assembling location in resisting drop weight impact of precast concrete beams were analyzed. The influence of impact mass and impact velocity on the impact resistance of precast concrete beams were also investigated. The results revealed that the further the assembling location is away from the impact location, the closer the mechanical performance of the precast concrete beam is to that of the reinforced concrete beam. When the assembling location and the impact location coincided, the assembling region suffered from severe local damages. With increased impact velocity and impact energy, the damage mode of the precast concrete beams may change gradually from bending failure to bending-shear failure and eventually to local failure. In addition, the bonding around the assembling interface was found to be effective to resist drop weight impact load regardless of the magnitude of the impact velocity and energy.