Dynamic Behavior of Concrete: Experimental Aspects - Dynamic Behavior of Concrete and Seismic Engineering - page 15

Figure 1.3. Skeleton diagram of the shock tube trial (from [TOU 95a])
Considering the inner diameters of the tube and the support area (82 cm), to
preserve the cylindrical symmetry of the test, the test sample is a “thin plate”
(thickness/span 1/10) 900 mm in diameter and 8 cm high. It has dimensions
compatible with the performances of the tube (allowing it to actually reach failure
requires using a concrete with aggregates that are not too small, or realistically
standard reinforcement (welded wire mesh), or fiber reinforcements). We can note
the particular care taken to achieve limit conditions close to those for an ideal simple
support, the circular slab being “pinched” between the humps of two massive
guides, a thin rubber-steel sandwich (a 3 cm wide ring) allowing absorption of
geometric defects and distribution of the clamping load. Its stiffness has been
measured, and control of the displacement and acceleration on the supports during
blasts enables analysis of the bending of the support slab under uniform loading on a
driven reference line.