Drop-weight tests of concrete beams prestressed with unbonded tendons and meso-scale simulation

•Drop-weight tests are conducted on unbonded prestressed concrete beams.•Interaction behaviors between concrete and the tendons are particularly addressed.•The prestressed concrete beams are capable of withstanding multiple impacts.•A model that couples PEM and FDM is established for drop-weight tests.•The experimental test results are all supported by those of the coupling simulation.

Impact tests are conducted on concrete beams prestressed with unbonded tendons using a drop-weight facility. These beams are measured comprehensively, including impact load–deformation histories, concrete and tendon strains, and beam cracking process. The interactions between the concrete beam and the tendons are thus systematically analyzed. A model that couples particle elements with finite difference approach (PEM–FDM) is also proposed to simulate the impact behavior of the complete system that is composed of concrete–tendon composites and the loading facility. The comparisons of the test results with those of numerical simulation are satisfactory in terms of load–deformation, concrete and tendon strains, and energy transference among different components. Thus, the main features of the rupture mechanism in structures, including the development of concrete cracking and the yielding effects of tendons, can be reasonably modeled using the PEM–FDM coupling technique.