Damage Effects of Ultra-high Performance Concrete (UHPC) Columns with Varying Strengths under Blast Loading

To investigate the damage effects of explosive loads on ultra-high performance reinforced concrete (UHPRC) columns, blast damage experiments were conducted on ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) columns and data on the failure modes and dynamic responses of UHPC columns across various concrete strength levels were obtained. The results indicate that, at a constant scaled distance, increasing the concrete strength of the UHPC column by 30 MPa led to a reduction of approximately 10%~15% in maximum mid-span displacement. Furthermore, the dimensions of localized damage zones—such as crushing and spalling regions—were significantly reduced; notably, at the C-200 strength grade, the flexural resistance of the column increased by 49.12%, while the length of localized damage decreased by 79 mm. Through numerical simulations, the influence of concrete strength on the blast damage effects of UHPC columns was quantitatively analyzed, leading to the derivation of a prediction formula for the localized damage dimensions of UHPC columns taking into account both the mass of the cylindrical explosive charge and the concrete strength.