Drop-Weight Testing on Concrete Beams and ACI Design Equations for Maximum and Residual Deflections under Low-Velocity Impact

A thorough review was performed to outline the general procedures used for performing drop-weight testing on concrete beam members. Highlights of this review include the problems associated with early tests and the methods used to overcome them, which have now become standard practice. The findings of various types of concrete beams under low-velocity impact have also been examined. These include the impact behavior of conventionally reinforced, fiber-reinforced, and prestressed concrete beams. Next, a database of various concrete beam types has been carefully built for the development and discussion of observed trends. When applicable, comparison of the recorded drop-weight behavior of conventional reinforced concrete (RC) beams was aggregated to its ACI design capacity. Finally, empirical relations for both flexuraland shear-critical members are suggested, with applicability to the ACI design standard. Keywords: ACI design equation; drop-weight testing; fiber-reinforced concrete beams; prestressed concrete beams; reinforced concrete beams.