Abstract
In this paper, impact resistance of RC columns due to lateral impact loads is discussed based on experimental results. In this study, shear-span length and rebar ratios in the longitudinal and lateral directions were taken as variables. Furthermore, the influence of the combination of axial static and lateral impact loads applied to column models on impact resistance is also discussed. Anchoring RC column model to a side wall, lateral impact loads were applied on the edge of the model by freely falling of a 200 kg steel weight with built-in load cell. The results obtained from these experiments are: 1) the impulse generated by impact load is almost equal to the input momentum of the steel weight, 2) the duration of impact load is in proportion to the shear-span length and 3) the impact resistance of RC column model may be estimated. with some safety margin by using the ultimate static capacity.
