Investigation of the Effects of Shear Reinforcement Ratio and Opening Size on the Impact Behavior of Rc Beams Produced With Geopolymer Concrete

Abstract

Investigations have revealed that construction, manufacturing, and the construction sector collectively account for a significant proportion of global energy consumption and emissions. The issue of climate change has become a matter of significant concern, with the slowing down of problems caused by it and the prevention of some of them before they occur occupying a prominent position on the global agenda. Concrete remains the most prevalent building material globally. The primary component of concrete utilized in its production is cement. However, cement is a building material that requires significant energy inputs during manufacture and generates substantial carbon emissions. Consequently, research on environmentally benign alternative concrete formulations that can be produced using alternative binding agents and recycled waste materials instead of cement has witnessed a gradual surge. Research on geopolymer concrete, one of these types, has intensified increasingly in the last decade. Research investigating the behavior of reinforced concrete structural elements produced using geopolymer concrete under static and cyclic earthquake loading has gradually increased in the literature. However, a literature review reveals a paucity of studies examining the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) members produced using geopolymer concrete under sudden dynamic loading, such as that caused by impact forces. For this reason, an experimental study was planned, and 16 RC beams produced using standard concrete and geopolymer concrete, without and with circular web openings of different sizes, with insufficient and sufficient shear strength, were tested under impact loading using a drop weight test setup. Under the effect of constant energy level impact loading applied to the specimens, the variations of acceleration, displacement, and impact loading values for time were measured, general impact behavior, failure mechanisms, and energy dissipation values were calculated and interpreted, and it was investigated how they were affected by the experimental variables examined in the study. The openings in the RC beams and the increase in the size of the openings negatively affected the performance of all beams under impact loading. In addition, the RC beams tested in the experimental study were modeled using Ls-Dyna finite element software. The values obtained from the numerical analysis were compared with the experimental results, and the extent to which successful analyses could be performed was interpreted.