An experimental method of measuring the confined compression strength of high-performance concretes to analyse their ballistic behaviour

Abstract
The test known as “quasi-oedometric compression” consists of the compression of a cylindrical specimen confined in a thick vessel. In this work, an original methodology is proposed to deduce the radial stress and strain within the specimen using hoop strains measured on the external surface of the vessel, taking into account its elasto-plastic deformation. On one hand the spherical and deviatoric behaviours of two concretes are deduced. On the other hand, their ballistic behaviour is analysed using impact tests. These experiments are simulated numerically by the plasticity model of Krieg, Swenson and Taylor, and the features of the model are identified by the previous confined compression tests. The capacity of the model to describe the ballistic behaviour of such materials is shown in a comparison of the numerical simulations with the ballistic tests.