Abstract
•Impact strength of PAFC and SIFCON subjected to modified drop weight test was examined.•Incorporation of underneath granular bedding increased the total energy absorbed by the test specimens.•Line-notched specimens exhibited lower average scattering of results.•Line-notched specimens on sand bedding is the recommended loading case.•Weibull distribution is an effective tool for analyzing the scattered impact test results.
Although several studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact response of concrete using the American Concrete Institute (ACI) 544-2R falling mass impact test, the variations in test results are the main drawback of this testing method. This study aims to reduce the variations in experimental impact test results by introducing two simple test setup modifications; (1) using coarse or fine aggregate bedding as an alternative to the steel base plate, (2) the use of line or cross-notched specimens with a line or cross-load distributing steel plate. One hundred thirty-five cylindrical discs were prepared with Preplaced Aggregate Fibrous Concrete (PAFC) and Slurry Infiltrated Fibrous Concrete (SIFCON), tested in nine groups to assess the proposed modified techniques. Steel hooked-end (2.5%) and macro polypropylene (8.0%) fibers were used to develop PAFC and SIFCON, respectively. The research findings revealed that using aggregate bedding increased the impact resistance by 38 to 429% for no-notch specimens and up to 283% for notched specimens. The presence of notches reduced the total energy absorbed by the bedding material. For instance, the specimens with a line notch and sand bedding exhibited 15 to 51% lower failure impact numbers than their corresponding no-notch specimens. Considering surface-notched specimens and aggregate bedding led to a lower scattering of the impact test results, while the line-notched specimens exhibited lower average scattering than the cross and no-notched specimens. In general, a percentage decrease in the coefficient of variation of 30 to 74% was attained for specimens with bedding and/or surface notch compared to reference specimens.