Arresting behavior of foamed concrete used in EMAS subjected to wind erosion and wet-dry cycles

The crushing behaviors of foamed concrete were used to evaluate the arresting properties of Engineered Material Arresting System (EMAS). The results show that the wind erosion and wet-dry cycles have significant effects on the crushing behaviors. For foamed concrete with an apparent density of 350 kg/m³, 3 hours of wind erosion and 20 wet-dry cycles reduce the semi-collapsing energy of foamed concrete by 53.1% and 15.9%, respectively. The wet-dry cycles cause obvious cracks and increase the number and the width of cracks in foamed concrete. The mass loss and maximum erosion depth of 1-hour wind erosion are increased by 65% and 6.1% after foamed concrete is subjected to 20 wet-dry cycles. Necessary measures (such as surface protection, etc.) should be taken to reduce or eliminate the negative impact caused by the wind erosion and wet-dry cycles.