ApplicationlimitsoffiniteelementmodelsforsimulationofshocktransferprocessesinconcretestructuresOriginalResearchArticle

Shocksonbuildingstructuresduetoimpactloads(dropofwreckageandheavymassesfromaccidents,transportoperations,explosions,etc.),especiallyincaseofapostulatedaircraftcrash,mayleadtofeasibilityproblemsduetohigh-inducedvibrationsandlargeexpendituresatsafety-relatedsystemsaccommodatedinsidethebuildingstructures.Arationalandcost-effectivequalificationofthefunctionalityofsuchsystemsrequiresthepredictionofreliableinformationaboutthenatureofstructuralresponsesinducedbyimpactloadinginthecorrespondingregionsofthestructure. Theanalyticderivationofrealisticandreliablestructuralresponsesrequirestheapplicationofadequatemathematicalmodelsandmethodsaswellasacriticalevaluationofallfactorsthatinfluencetheentireshocktransmissionpath,fromtheareaofimpacttothesiteofinstallationoftheaffectedcomponentorsysteminthestructure.Despiteextensivestudiesandcomputationalanalysesofimpact-inducedshocksperformedusingfiniteelementsimulationmethod,limitedandinsufficientexperimentalresultstodatehaveprecludedacompleteinvestigationandclarificationofseveral“peculiarities”inthefieldofshocktransmissioninfiniteelementmodels. ThisrefersmainlytothedivergenceofresultsobservedusingFEmodelswhennotconsideringatherequiredFEelementdiscretizationratioaswellastotheattenuationandscatterbehaviorofthedynamicresponseresultsobtainedforlargebuildingstructuresandgivenlargedistancesbetweentheloadimpactapplicationareasandthecomponentanchoringlocations.Thecauseforsuchdivergencesarerelatedtoseveraluptonownotclarified“phenomena”ofFEmodelsespeciallythelow-passfilteringeffectsanddispersioncharacteristicsofFEmodels.