Effect of rebar spacing on the behavior of concrete slabs under projectile impact

In this paper, the effect of different steel bar configurations on the quasi-static punching and impact response of concrete slabs was studied. A total of forty RC square slab specimens were cast in two groups of concrete strengths of 40 and 63 MPa. In each group of twenty specimens, ten specimens were reinforced at the back face (singly reinforced), and the remaining specimens were reinforced on both faces of the slab (doubly reinforced). Two rebar spacing of 25 and 100 mm, with constant reinforcement ratio and effective depth, were used in both singly and doubly reinforced slab specimens. The specimens were tested against the normal impact of cylindrical projectiles of hemispherical nose shape. Slabs were also quasi-statically tested in punching using the same projectile, which was employed for the impact testing. The experimental response illustrates that 25 mm spaced rebars are effective in (i) decreasing the local damage and overall penetration depth, (ii) increasing the absorption of impact energy, and (iii) enhancing the ballistic limit of RC slabs. The ballistic limit was predicted using the quasi-static punching test results of slab specimens showing a strong correlation between the dynamic perforation energy and the energy required for quasi-static perforation of slabs.