Application of concrete material in the design of protective structures requires the knowl- edgeofits mechanical behavior when subjected to extreme loading conditions (i.e. ballistic impacts). Under such kind of loading, the material is subjected to high triaxial compressive stresses. Gener-…
Application of concrete material in the design of protective structures requires the knowl- edgeofits mechanical behavior when subjected to extreme loading conditions (i.e. ballistic impacts). Under such kind of loading, the material is subjected to high triaxial compressive stresses. Gener- ally, protective concrete structures are massive and thus their drying process is very slow. Hence, the water saturation ratio may reach 100% at their core whereas their skin dries very quickly. In the last decade, a large number of studies have been conducted on this topic. Researchers studied the role of the concrete saturation ratio and initial matrix porosity on the response of concrete material under high confinement. Results have shown that the pore pressure developing in the material becomes considerable and increases the volumetric stiffness of concrete while restraining its strength capacity. This paper reports interstitial pore pressure measurement, conducted on a very wet reference con- crete, under hydrostatic tests at high confinement. Experimental results show the volumetric behavior of concrete and the evolution of the pore pressure with respect to the applied confinement pressure. Then, analytical modeling, within the poromechanical framework based on the effective stress con- cept, is developed to estimate the interstitial pore pressure evolution under high confinement. The modelshowspromisingresults while comparing it to the experimental values.