Application of Energy-Absorbing Layers to Blast Load Mitigation on RC Slabs

Reduction of structural damages due to the blast attacks is the main priorities of civil defense. Since most researchs in this field are concentrated on stability and strength increasing of the structures, this paper provides an effective method to blast load mitigation on the structures. In this study, twelve full-scale samples in four groups have tested under the same weight and stand-off of the explosive. The first group were single RC slabs and other three groups were the same RC slabs with energy absorbing layer: plastofoam, sand and light brittle blocks. Comparison of the experimental results show the use of energy-absorbing layers in reinforced concrete slabs, lead to reduce the maximum and permanent displacement at the center of the slab up to 77% and 87% respectively, diminish the number and thickness of cracks, prevent the scabbing and improve the behavior from severe damage to minor damages. The results also show that in order to displacement reduction and damage mitigation, the use of the block is preferable to sand and plastofoem.