Flexural behavior of the UHPCC containing glass powder as partial substitute of cement/silica fume

Abstract

This study aims to achieve the sustainability and environmental protection of ultra-high performance cementitious composite (UHPCC) by substituting cement/silica fume with glass powder (GP), and to investigate the influence of various GP substitution levels on flexural behavior. The damage patterns of GP-UHPCC are also investigated by using digital image control technique and RFPA3D program. The crack opening displacement, crack length, internal damage degree of all test series with various GP substitution levels were quantitatively characterized. The results indicate that GP as partial substitution in UHPCC is able to contribute to improving flexural strength. The energy absorption capacity of the specimen with 20% GP substitution level in all loading phases is the largest among all specimens. In addition, the crack area ratio and AE-accumulative energy of high GP substitution levels (15%–30%) is obviously higher than that of low levels (0%–10%). Generally speaking, GP substitution level of 15%–30% is found the most effective range for improving flexural behavior in this study.