Influence of water saturation on the compressive strength of concrete under high strain rates

In this study, the influence of different water saturation achieved by different storage conditions on the static and dynamic compressive strength of three different concretes were investigated. The specimens were first dried then water-saturated and tested both under static and impact loading. The impact tests were carried out in a split Hopkinson bar. Depending on the concrete strength class, increases in the compressive strength of 200%–300% at strain rates in the range of 90–160 1/s were observed. Compared to storage under ambient conditions, the compressive strength decreases as a result of drying due to microcrack formation. Furthermore, the concretes compressive strengths of water-saturated specimens decrease compared to dry specimens. This decrease was observed under both static and impact loading and is independent of the strain rate. The failure of the dry specimens was more explosive with an increased number of cracks compared to water-saturated specimens.