Experimental and numerical investigation of reinforced concrete beams with variable material properties under impact loading

•Behaviors of RC beams manufactured concrete are experimentally investigated.•Low strength, normal strength and ECC concrete containing PVA fibers are tested.•Finite element analyses of the tested beams are also conducted.•Material type affected the width of the observed cracks on the test specimens.•FEA showed that the crack patterns on the test specimens are in good agreement. In this study, behaviors of reinforced concrete beams manufactured from several concrete types are experimentally and numerically investigated under dynamic impact loading. In the experimental part of the study, 12 beams manufactured using low strength concrete, normal strength concrete and engineered cementitious composites (ECC) containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers are tested under dynamic impact loading. The dimensions of the manufactured reinforced concrete beams are also used as a variable to observe the effect of beam size on the behavior under dynamic impact loading. After the experimental study, finite element analyses of the tested beams are also conducted by using commonly used finite element software to observe the stress distribution under the impact loading. The results obtained from the experimental study illustrated that material type significantly affected the width of the observed cracks on the test specimens. Generally the smallest cracks formed on the test specimens manufactured using ECC and the largest cracks formed on the test specimens manufactured using low strength concrete. The results of the finite element study showed that the crack patterns on the test specimens are in good agreement with the stress distributions obtained from the impact loading simulations.