Experimental Study of the Carbon FRP Retrofitted Reinforced Concrete Panels under Explosion

Explosions, such as a bomb explosion and a gas explosion, can cause catastrophic damage on the buildings. In fact, an explosion may result in large dynamic loads, greater than the original design loads, of many structures. Two RC specimens were tested under explosive loading. The first specimen was used as a control for the experiment, while the other was retrofitted with 6 near surface mounted (NSM) Carbon FRP strips on each face. Both specimens were subjected to a 60g Pentolite at stand off distances of 0.6m. The aim of this experiment was to observe and compare the behavior of the two specimens, and their ability to resist blast loads respectively. Of particular interest was the response of the retrofitted RC specimens NSM Carbon FRP. The experimental results showed that NSM retrofitting with Carbon FRP is an effective way to provide extra strength when retrofitting against blast loading.