Dynamic response of foam concrete under low-velocity impact: experiments and numerical simulation

The dynamic response of foam concrete under low-velocity impact has been studied through impact tests of cubes and buffer layers. The impact response of foam concrete consisted of three stages. Foam concrete showed slight strain rate effect and confining pressure could significantly increase the plateau impact force. The laying of buffer layer obviously reduced the maximum impact force during impact (96% reduction was observed at 4.43 m/s). Smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) models based on impact tests of buffer layer were established, which simulated the test process reasonably well. The influence of impact velocity and thickness on maximum impact force was revealed and the critical thickness was obtained by means of the densification strain. Finally, the mechanism of impact damage was investigated and the characteristic of layer-by-layer damage of foam concrete was revealed.