Dynamic size effect in normal- and high-strength concrete cylinders

The size-effect phenomenon was investigated numerically and experimentally on both normal- and high-strength concrete cylinders subjected to static and dynamic compression. The tests provided data whose analysis produced evidence on the effect of loading rate and material strength on the size effect for structural concrete in compression. Parallel pretest and post-test computational simulations were used to perform numerical tests of the same specimens and to explore the role of the time dimension on the physical phenomena that contribute to the size effect. Comparisons between test and numerical data assisted and guided the investigators in identifying the governing parameters that define the physical phenomena. Both tests and numerical models proved the existence of a size effect in parameters other than strength such as the modulus of elasticity and the strain at maximum stress.