Researchers at IIT Madras have developed a framework to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure in India against ballistic missile threats. This framework aids in designing reinforced concrete (RC) panels with better ballistic resistance, crucial for structures like military bunkers, nuclear power plants, and bridges.

This research will help develop innovative solutions to improve ballistic resistance of reinforced concrete panels in military bunkers, nuclear power buildings, bridges, runways & other critical structures.

The study, conducted using Finite Element (FE) simulations, focused on the impact of missile strikes on RC, which is commonly used in vital infrastructure. It examined local damage types, such as penetration, spalling, and crushing, caused by projectile impacts.

The IIT Madras team, led by Dr Alagappan Ponnalagu and research scholar Roouf Un Nabi Dar, proposed a performance-based design framework based on the Depth of Penetration (DOP) and crater damage area, along with a probabilistic formula to estimate crater diameter in RC panels. The research was published in Reliability Engineering & System Safety.

Dr Alagappan Ponnalagu, assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, said, the importance of ballistic design for concrete structures in today’s unpredictable world was crucial adding that their framework fills gaps left by traditional methods, providing more reliable results for crater quantification and damage estimation.

He added, “Ballistic design is crucial for widely utilised concrete structures in today’s unpredictable world. Usually, extensive experimental and numerical studies have been done to investigate concrete panels, resulting in design guidelines for local damage parameters. However, with the advent of performance-based design, the ballistic design of concrete structures lacks a comprehensive design philosophy.

“Moreover, while quantifying damage parameters, incorrect and inconsistent results are obtained by using deterministic empirical formulations. We have now provided a reliable design formula for estimating crater diameter in addition to the development of a novel performance-based ballistic design framework for RC panels. This study is helpful not only in terms of providing the ballistic design framework and probabilistic crater quantifications formula but also in understanding the ballistic behaviour of RC panels.”

The team plans to extend their research to create lightweight, cost-effective ballistic-resistant panels for use in military bunkers and remote areas. The proposed design framework incorporates a novel approach to quantifying crater damage, validated through experimental results.

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