Novel concrete specimen geometry for dynamic compression tests

This study proposes a cylindrical concrete specimen with a small center through-hole for dynamic compression tests at an intermediate strain rate based on theoretical and finite element (FE) analyses. The theoretical analysis demonstrated that the proposed specimen maintained a uniaxial stress state during the compression test. A FE analysis provided the optimum hole size and height of the compression specimen stress, demonstrating a cone-shaped damage distribution inside the specimen at intermediate compression strain rates. The stress, strain, and damage distributions inside the specimen were analyzed by varying its diameter, height, internal hole, and friction coefficient. The height parameter significantly affected the damage distribution, and the center hole eliminated the nonuniform stress on the specimen. The proposed specimen was fabricated using waterjet processing from the original shape suggested by ASTM C39, with the stress–strain curves and fracture shape analyzed using dynamic compression tests.