Ballistic concrete

oil pan 4 · 05-18-17, 08:17 PM

All these tornados and such got me thinking.
With modern materials why are homes getting flattened by twisters?
So I thought the obvious solution is concrete.
Not just any concrete, ballistic concrete. It's got to be strong, crack resistant, if it does crack some that can't be the cause of failure and it has to resist penetration.
I could call it tornado concrete but that name sucks.

I also want to latterly develope better stucco.
You might think stucco looks tough but I got an over grown bb gun that can blow a hole through standard stucco. I have already developed stucco that can stop a 9mm round, an unexpected result I should add.

The scope is to take existing easy to get materials, combined them, improve them, test them for improved strength and toughness. See if the added cost of better materials is cheaper than just casting thicker concrete or just to improve strength if you are limited in thickness for some reason.
For example polymer concrete strength booster it's like adding glue that helps the concrete stick together better, it's expensive at $15 to $17 per gallon. I think wetting cubic yards with this stuff is unrealistic and not in very many people's budget, but maybe using 10% to 50% is, but is it worth the added cost?

Standard concrete has no steel or fiber reenforcement, it's compressive strength is around 4,000psi.
"Military grade ballistic concrete" is 5,000psi and has up to 30 pounds of steel per cubic yard.
High strength concrete can be up to 6,500psi.

The Internet doesn't say a whole lot about ballistic concrete. You're pretty much limited to "make a wall like this". I want to be fully scalable from improving stucco to building a fortress if that's your thing down to making a concrete counter top that won't crack.

My testing will be with 11.7 inch squares that are 1.75 inches thick. That odd size just happens to be the same size as a "1 foot square paver block".
I figure that sample size will be cheap to produce, be easy to move, easy to reproduce.
The standard size hardware store paver is going to be my instant cheap control test.
Test blocks have been cast and have been set aside to cure.
Paver blocks have been destroyed with various weaponry.
Masonry will be harmed in the making of these posts.

05-18-17, 08:17 PM	#1
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	Ballistic concrete All these tornados and such got me thinking. With modern materials why are homes getting flattened by twisters? So I thought the obvious solution is concrete. Not just any concrete, ballistic concrete. It's got to be strong, crack resistant, if it does crack some that can't be the cause of failure and it has to resist penetration. I could call it tornado concrete but that name sucks. I also want to latterly develope better stucco. You might think stucco looks tough but I got an over grown bb gun that can blow a hole through standard stucco. I have already developed stucco that can stop a 9mm round, an unexpected result I should add. The scope is to take existing easy to get materials, combined them, improve them, test them for improved strength and toughness. See if the added cost of better materials is cheaper than just casting thicker concrete or just to improve strength if you are limited in thickness for some reason. For example polymer concrete strength booster it's like adding glue that helps the concrete stick together better, it's expensive at $15 to $17 per gallon. I think wetting cubic yards with this stuff is unrealistic and not in very many people's budget, but maybe using 10% to 50% is, but is it worth the added cost? Standard concrete has no steel or fiber reenforcement, it's compressive strength is around 4,000psi. "Military grade ballistic concrete" is 5,000psi and has up to 30 pounds of steel per cubic yard. High strength concrete can be up to 6,500psi. The Internet doesn't say a whole lot about ballistic concrete. You're pretty much limited to "make a wall like this". I want to be fully scalable from improving stucco to building a fortress if that's your thing down to making a concrete counter top that won't crack. My testing will be with 11.7 inch squares that are 1.75 inches thick. That odd size just happens to be the same size as a "1 foot square paver block". I figure that sample size will be cheap to produce, be easy to move, easy to reproduce. The standard size hardware store paver is going to be my instant cheap control test. Test blocks have been cast and have been set aside to cure. Paver blocks have been destroyed with various weaponry. Masonry will be harmed in the making of these posts. Last edited by oil pan 4; 05-20-17 at 08:21 AM.. Reason: Added the "For example"