Impact response of steel-concrete composite panels: Experiments and FE analyses

A steel-concrete composite (SC) panel typically consists of two steel faceplates and a plain concrete core. This paper investigated the impact response of SC panels through drop hammer tests and numerical simulations. The influence of the drop height, faceplate thickness, and axial compressive preload was studied. Experimental results showed that the deformation of SC panels under impact consists of local indentation and overall bending. The resistance of the panel significantly decreased after the local failure occurred. A three-dimensional finite element model was established to simulate the response of SC panels under low-velocity impact, in which the axial preload could be considered reasonably. The predicted displacements and impact force were in good agreement with the experimental results. Based on the validated model, a parametric study was conducted to further discuss the effect of the axial compressive preload.