Drop Weight Impact Strength Measurement Method for Porous Concrete Using Laser Doppler Velocimetry

Abstract

In this study, an experimental configuration that reveals the dynamic response of porous concretes in a drop weight impact test was introduced. Through the measurement of particle velocity at the interface, between the impactor and the concrete target, the dynamic response was obtained in an easily applicable way. Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) was used in monitoring the time history of the particle velocity at the interface, which was subsequently analyzed to determine the dynamic strengths of the concrete specimens tested. The velocity measurements were analyzed using a special reverberation application of the impedance mismatch method. The test results showed that the experimental configuration was sufficient to measure the dynamic strengths of porous concretes and a normal concrete with moderate strength. The method was validated by using impactors having different dynamic impedances in testing the same material and was also verified to be precise enough to distinguish between different types of porous concrete mixtures.