Experimental Investigation and Numerical Analyses of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Under Low-Velocity Drop Weight Impact

In case a fuel container falls off in a fuel building, autoclaved aerated concrete need to be placed above the floor to protect the building structure. To investigate the impact mechanical performance of autoclaved aerated concrete, impact tests were carried out considering different combinations of drop height and thickness of autoclaved aerated concrete. The results indicate that autoclaved aerated concrete has excellent buffer performance. At the same drop weight mass, an increase in drop height causes the impact force to increase. Through considering the thickness of autoclaved aerated concrete to buffer effect, the transmission path of the impact force through the buffer layers was revealed. The transmission path is straight line and makes an angle of approximately 60° with the horizontal. The maximum impact force, duration and impulse on the buffer layer of the autoclaved aerated concrete were calculated by LSDYNA software. The calculation results are close to the results of the testing data. When the fuel container falls at the loading and unloading port, first it breaks down the reinforced concrete floor at the elevation of − 0.05 m, and then impacts the buffer layer at the elevation of − 8.5 m and stops. The reinforced concrete raft and the side walls around the buffer layer do not reach the ultimate bearing capacity. When the fuel container falls in the cleaning and loading wells, the buffer layer will absorb most of the impact energy, and the floor and the side walls will not reach the ultimate bearing capacity.