Laboratory investigation of stress waves in young shotcrete on rock

To study the behaviour of shotcrete under dynamic load, a non-destructive laboratory experiment was set up with P-wave propagation along a concrete bar, with properties similar to rock. Cement-based mortar with properties that resemble shotcrete was applied to one end of the bar with a hammer impacting the other. The shape of the stress waves travelling towards the shotcrete was registered using accelerometers positioned along the bar. Finite-element modelling was used to verify the test results, which showed that the laboratory model with an impacting hammer could be used to initiate the same type of stress waves that result from blasting in good-quality rock. Previously recommended maximum allowed peak particle vibration velocities were verified.