Abstract
Although in recent years glass fibre reinforced cement (GRC) has been used in buildings and infrastructure, its application in structural elements has been somewhat restricted due to the worsening of its mechanical properties with ageing and the limited data available related with its fracture energy. With the aim of developing existing knowledge of GRC, the fracture energy in an in-plane and out-of-plane direction of the panel has been obtained. Three types of GRC with different formulations have been tested. The results showed that the fracture energy of a GRC with a 25% addition of a pozzolanic admixture is 40% and 8% higher than a standard GRC in, respectively, in-plane and out-of-plane directions. Similarly, an addition of 25% of thermal-treated kaolin to a standard GRC increases its fracture energy up to 490% and 400%, to the corresponding orientation. The use of digital image correlation (DIC) in the fracture test analysis has permitted a description of the damaging patterns and explanation of the behaviours identified in the fracture tests performed. The multi-cracking process that appears explains the higher fracture energy found in the GRC with an addition of 25% of the aforementioned thermal-treated kaolin. The analysis performed by means of DIC and the results obtained showed GRC with an addition of 25% of thermal-treated kaolin to be the most suitable formulation for possible future structural applications with a short life span in horizontal and vertical elements.
Highlights
The remarkable mechanical properties of glass fibre reinforced cement (GRC) have enabled its use as constructionHow to cite this paper: Enfedaque, A., Alberti, M.G. and Galvez, J.C. (2016) The Influence of Additions in the Use of Glass Fibre Reinforced Cement as a Construction Material
The results showed that a high content of metakaolin addition induces changes in the damage mechanisms that occurred in both orientations of GRC, enabling a multi-cracking process that enhanced fracture energy and ductility
Fracture Tests in an Out-of-Plane Direction Preparation of the average load-crack mouth open displacement (CMOD) curves has been carried out in order to compare the results obtained in the tests performed when introducing the load in a perpendicular direction
Summary
The remarkable mechanical properties of glass fibre reinforced cement (GRC) have enabled its use as construction. It has been profusely employed in cladding panels, telecommunication towers, sewers and, among others, permanent formworks [1]-[4]. In almost all the aforementioned uses, the load bearing capacity that the fibres provide to the composite material is not considered in the structural design The latter is justified because previous published research has shown that the ductility and enhancement of the mechanical properties that the glass fibres provide to the construction material are diminished as time passes [5]-[8]. Assessment of the influence of the additions previously cited in the fracture energy would be a key design parameter for future applications in the short term By obtaining these results, short-term and long-term applicability of GRC as a construction material for structural elements could be drastically extended. The results showed that a high content of metakaolin addition induces changes in the damage mechanisms that occurred in both orientations of GRC, enabling a multi-cracking process that enhanced fracture energy and ductility
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