Experimental study of the strength and deformations of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) retrofitted reinforced concrete slabs under blast loadThis article is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Issue on Blast Engineering.

The blast response and ultimate resistance of reinforced concrete slabs externally strengthened with carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates were investigated. Five square slab specimens, 1 m on a side, were retrofitted with 500 mm wide CFRP laminates bonded to their top and bottom surfaces. Another four nominally identical unretrofitted slabs were used as control specimens. Four of the retrofitted and the four control slabs were first subjected to the detonation of either 22.4 or 33.4 kg of explosive at a stand-off distance of 3.0 m. For reference, the fifth retrofitted slab was only statically tested to failure. Blast pressures and impulses and slab deformations were measured. After exposure to the blast, the slabs that were not completely damaged were statically tested to failure. Overall the retrofitted slabs performed better than the control slabs, but one retrofitted slab completely failed under the blast load while none of the control slabs experienced complete failure under similar load.