Textile-reinforced Concrete Composites Research Articles

Mechanical Properties and Water Permeability of Textile-Reinforced Reactive Powder Concrete with Lightweight Aggregate.

This paper focuses on the development of thin-walled panels with specific properties for applications such as water-tight structures. The authors propose the use of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) as a composite material and highlight its advantages, which include high tensile strength, improved crack resistance, and design flexibility. The study presents a novel approach which combines TRC with reactive powder concrete (RPC) as a matrix and a lightweight aggregate. RPC, known for its brittle behaviour, is reinforced with glass fibres and a textile fabric to increase its flexural strength. The research includes a comprehensive analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of both the unreinforced RPC matrix and the TRC composite. In particular, the lightweight aggregate RPC matrix has a porosity of 41%, and its mechanical properties, such as flexural and compressive strength, are discussed. The TRC composites, produced in thicknesses ranging from 1 mm to 4 mm, are subjected to flexural tests to evaluate their behaviour under load. The thicker elements show typical damage phases, while the thinner elements show greater flexibility and elasticity. SEM observations confirm good adhesion between the glass fibres and the RPC matrix. Water permeability tests show that the TRC composite, despite its highly porous structure, achieves a water permeability two orders of magnitude higher than that of a reference material, highlighting the roles of both the porous aggregate and the matrix hydration. The paper concludes with a proof of concept-a canoe called the PKanoe, which is constructed from the developed TRC composite. The design of the canoe is supported by numerical analysis to ensure its optimal shape and structural integrity under load. The research contributes to the exploration of innovative materials for sustainable civil engineering applications and addresses both structural and environmental considerations.

Mô hình lưới mô phỏng ứng xử kéo của bê tông cốt lưới dệt

Textile-based composites have been studied extensively in the past two decades as they are used in constructing newly fabricated structural elements. This paper presents numerical results of lattice modelling of textile-reinforced concrete in which the damage behaviour model was considered by cracking or crushing for the cementitious matrix. The lattice model was developed from the input data of constitutive materials in the literature and validated with the corresponding textile-reinforced concrete composites. The agreement of numerical results between the lattice model and other numerical modelling was also highlighted and analyzed. From the lattice model, the effects of several parameters on the textile-reinforced concrete properties were identified by the parametric studies. From these results, several suggestions were concluded for enhancing the mechanical properties of the textile-reinforced concrete.

Flexural behaviour of concrete thin sheets prestressed with basalt-textile reinforcement

While the recently emerged textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) composites offer a more durable alternative to conventional reinforced concrete, these composites are susceptible to cracking and high deformations under service loads, which hinders their widespread application for the development of load-bearing structural components. Aiming at addressing this issue, the present paper experimentally investigates the flexural response of non-prestressed and prestressed basalt-based textile-reinforced concrete plates. Basalt is chosen as an emerging low-carbon reinforcement for TRC composites. The first series of tests is focused on non-prestressed TRCs and consists of eleven reinforcement configurations considering the role of reinforcement ratio, position and coating on the flexural behaviour of TRCs. The second series, focused on prestressed TRCs, considered the role of prestressing level (13%, 25% and 35% of the fabric’s ultimate tensile load), releasing time, testing age and coating type on the flexural behaviour.

Dynamic flexural behavior of AR-glass textile reinforced concrete under low-velocity impact loading

Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) has a higher sustainable potential than conventional reinforced concrete, with a significantly lower CO2 footprint. To study the dynamic flexural behavior of TRC composites, the Alkali Resistant (AR)-glass textile reinforced concrete (TRC) plate specimens was investigated with the three-point bending test under low-velocity impact. This study examined the influences of the textile layer number (1, 2, and 3 layers) and the impact velocity (1.29–4.04 m/s) on the dynamic behavior of TRC composites, and compared that with the quasi-static test results. The results show that the Young’s modulus and initial peak impact stress of the AR-glass TRC generally increase with the impact velocity, while its influence on the ultimate flexural stress is insignificant. It is found that the ultimate flexural stress can better represent the dynamic flexural capacity of AR-glass TRC materials than the initial peak stress. The failure modes were also analyzed in terms of crack patterns and crack widths, which were measured through the digital image correlation (DIC) method. It was found that rebound and rupture are the two main failure scenarios of the AR-glass TRC under low-velocity impact loading. The cracks of AR-glass TRC specimens could be mainly categorized into flexural crack, shear-flexural crack, and interfacial debonding crack. The study of stress-crack width relationship is helpful to determine the design strength of TRC material to meet the requirement on crack width.

Experimental and numerical investigation of carbon textile/cementitious matrix interfacebehaviourfrom pull-out tests

In the context of the application of textile-reinforced concrete composite (TRC) for strengthening or reinforcing of structural elements, an important factor that significantly influences its mechanical behaviour is the bond strength of the textile/cementitious matrix interface. In order to improve this bond, reinforcement textile is usually treated with different products in the manufacturing procedure. This paper presents the experimental and numerical results concerning the mechanical behaviour of carbon textile/cementitious matrix interface from the pull-out tests. The carbon textile was treated with an amorphous silica product to improve the bond with the cementitious matrix and embedded in the cementitious matrix with different lengths. The experimental results showed that all pull-out tests gave typical “force – slip” curves of interface behaviour as shown in the literature with three phases: perfect bonding phase, debonding phase, and pure friction phase. The effects of carbon textile and embedded length on pull-out behaviour and failure mode of textile/matrix interface specimens could be found and analyzed. Concerning the mesoscale modeling work, the numerical model was developed and validated by using a nonlinear spring model for interface behaviour and taking into account the crack damage of the cementitious matrix in the calculation. The numerical results highlighted that the numerical model could predict the relationship of pull-out force and slip for all cases of the embedded length of carbon textiles within the cementitious matrix. This paper shows that both experimental and numerical results on the carbon textile/cementitious matrix interface has a good agreement in pull-out behaviour and failure mode.

A state-of-the art review of tensile behavior of the textile-reinforced concrete composite

Over the past two decades, textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) materials have been increasingly and widely used for the strengthening/reinforcement of civil engineering works. Thanks to their many advantages as the durability, considerable bond strength with the reinforced concrete (RC) members, best recycling conditions, the TRC materials are considered as an optimal alternative solution to substitute the traditional strengthening and reinforcing materials FRP (Fiber-Reinforced Polymer). The mechanical behavior of TRC composite has been characterized in previous experimental studies. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of the mechanical behavior of TRC composite under tensile loading. By inheriting from previous review studies, this paper updates the experimental studies on the tensile behavior of TRC composite in the last decade. The review addresses, firstly the mechanical properties of constituent materials in TRC as reinforcement textile, cementitious matrix, and textile/matrix interface. Secondly, it addresses the tensile behavior of TRC composite, including the characterization methods as well as analyses of its strain-hardening behavior with different phases. The paper then discusses the main factors which influence the mechanical behavior of TRC materials in the available experimental studies. Finally, the conclusion of this review terminates this paper.

A new PCM-TRC composite: A mechanical and physicochemical investigation

The present paper presents a multiscale and multiphysics study that focuses on the development of an innovative composite material, which combines a cementitious matrix modified by a phase-change material (PCM) with textile reinforcement (PCM-TRC).The development of this composite has been guided by the conjunction of several factors, among which it is appropriate to emphasise the lightweight of the composite due to the reduced covers in textile reinforced concrete (TRC) coupled to the high thermal inertia due to the addition of PCM microcapsules.This research focuses on the effect of PCM on the mechanical and physicochemical properties of TRC. Special emphasis is placed on providing the phenomenological explanation for the resulting mechanical behaviour of TRC according to the rate and state of the PCM.It has been found that the ductile mechanical behaviour of TRC composites is maintained in the presence of microencapsulated PCM; however, the mechanical performance of PCM-TRC decreases with the PCM rate. This is due to the disorder caused by PCM at the matrix and interface scales. Furthermore, it has been found that the PCM state (solid or liquid) can affect the mechanical performance of both the PCM–mortar matrix and PCM-TRC composite. This is due to PCM expansion during phase change from the solid to the liquid state, which can induce matrix microcracking.

Experimental and analytical analysis of the effect of water content on the thermomechanical behaviour of glass textile reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures

Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) composites are generally used to repair and/or reinforce civil engineering structures. In most cases, these reinforced structures are subjected to the weather conditions of the surrounding environment and issues such as thermal variation, humidity, and fire exposure. With consideration for these types of conditions, this study investigates the thermomechanical behaviour of TRC composites under various elevated temperatures from 20 °C to 800 °C and two water contents (i.e., ‘almost-dry’ and ‘saturated’). An analysis of these conditions will allow the effect of temperature to be quantified and combined with the presence of water in the pores of the TRC composites.The experimental study is followed by an analytical model that aims to calibrate the existing Gibson model. Based on the obtained experimental results, the parameters of the analytical model that were adapted for cementitious matrix composites are identified and discussed. With a minimum number of experimental tests, the modified analytical model enabled the prediction of the thermomechanical properties of glass TRC as a function of its water content and temperature. Therefore, the proposed modified analytical model can be applied to the prediction of the thermomechanical properties of similar TRC composites.

Thermomechanical behaviour and residual properties of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) subjected to elevated and high temperature loading: Experimental and comparative study

Abstract The studied TRC composite was made with a cementitious matrix and an alkali-resistant glass textile grid. Each TRC specimen was subjected to one of these two loading paths: a thermomechanical test or a residual resistance test. In both tests, the temperature was first increased to the required temperature (20 °C, 75 °C, 150 °C, 300 °C, 400 °C or 600 °C) and was subsequently held constant for one hour. In the thermomechanical test, the axial tensile force was later applied directly to the specimen and increased monotonically until the maximum load that the specimen could resist was achieved. In the residual resistance test, the TRC specimens were later naturally cooled in the furnace for 15 h. After cooling, the temperature within the TRC specimens was equal to the temperature of the ambient laboratory air (20 °C). The preheated-cooled TRC specimens were then tested at 20 °C using monotonic axial tensile loading until rupture to identify the residual behaviour. These two loading paths allowed for characterizing the thermomechanical and residual behaviours of the TRC composite. These tests also enabled comparison of the stress/strain curves and the characteristics of this material as a function of the temperature and the loading paths.

Comparative characterization of the durability behaviour of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) under tension and bending

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the durability behaviour of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) subjected to both tensile and bending loads to compare its macroscale characterization. Composites are produced as a laminate material using 2 and 6 layers of glass fibre mat as reinforcements. The instantaneous and long-term (durability) properties of composite TRC are identified by tensile and flexural testing with specimens made from the same fresh mortar. The long-term tests are conducted in two ageing environments: natural ageing, which was conducted under the laboratory atmosphere (20°C and 50% RH), and accelerated ageing, which consisted of immersion of the specimens in hot water at 50°C. The durability performance of TRC is evaluated by the reduced macroscale performance and damage mechanisms. The effects of the reinforcement ratio, testing conditions, and thermal conditions on the long-term response of TRC are investigated, and the microstructure of both matrix and fibre is observed and discussed after the tests with observations via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of layers of glass fibre (reinforcement ratio) increased the strength capacity and the first macro-crack strength of TRC in both tensile and bending tests. The ultimate strength value of the TRC composites obtained from the tensile test is lower than that from the bending test over the same tested days as a result of the different redistribution mechanisms; however, the difference between tensile and flexural stress remains approximately equal with similar deviations. An increase in the tensile and flexural strength capacity over the ageing time is observed before 90days of ageing. However, after 90days, the test results showed a loss of ductility of the accelerated aged specimens.

Mechanical in-plane behaviour of masonry walls reinforced by composite materials: Experimental and analytical approaches

Masonry is a traditional building system in most countries of the world, including France. However, in recent decades, earthquakes have caused significant damage to masonry structures. The possibility of using textile-reinforced concrete or fibre-reinforced polymers to strengthen masonry structures has been recently assessed. This article addresses the effectiveness of externally bonded composite materials, particularly those based on newly developed cementitious matrices, to strengthen masonry structures. Experimental tests were performed in a previous study on six masonry walls, five of which were strengthened on both sides with either textile-reinforced concrete or fibre-reinforced polymers. This experimental campaign has been supplemented to determine the mechanical properties of the materials involved in design models, and it is used to check the potential of analytical models to predict lateral strength. This study identifies the interests and the restrictions governing the use of traditional empirical design approaches (employed for fibre-reinforced polymer-strengthened walls) when next-generation textile-reinforced concrete composites are used as strengthening materials. Adjustments taking into account the specificities of textile-reinforced concrete behaviour have been introduced, and their impact on the relevance of the models has been quantified.

Experimental investigations of reinforced concrete beams repaired/reinforced by TRC composites

Reinforcement and repair of reinforced concrete structures is often more economical and sustainable (less cement consumption, less CO2 production) than reconstruction. Currently, the solution of reinforcement/repair by carbon-epoxy materials applied to outer surfaces of the structures is routinely used. However, these composites have limitations in terms of cost, fire resistance and sustainable development criteria. The textile reinforced concrete (TRC) mineral-based composite is envisaged as an alternative solution that can solve, at least partially, the above drawbacks.This work aims to experimentally assess contributions of the strengthening/repair of slender reinforced concrete beams subjected to bending by applying the TRC composite. In the first approach, the use of TRC composites in the case of the repair/strengthening of tank shells will be evaluated on the basis of slender beams. Twelve reinforced concrete “beams” are tested for quasi-static monotonic loading by bending tests over four points among 10 beams that have been reinforced/repaired by composite materials. Several parameters including two different modes of curing conditions (28days immersion in water at 20°C; 28days left in air at 20°C, 50 RH), and two different types of configurations of the beams (with and without pre-cracking) have been considered. This study highlights the mechanical performance of TRC in strengthening/repair of the reinforced concrete beams by analysing the changes in global behaviour (e.g., load/deflection, failure mode, flexural rigidity) and local behaviour (e.g., deformation of steel, pattern cracking, the crack opening). Further evaluation of the local behaviour of TRC should be conducted to address the damage mechanism by multi-cracking of the material and changing the opening of the crack located on the face of the composite.

Minimum reinforcement ratio in TRC panels for deflection hardening flexural performance

The performance of textile reinforced concrete (TRC) was investigated with considering different parameters of fabric such as yarn type, mesh size, and yarn diameter. The fabric material was made of special Nylon yarns called “tire cord yarn”. In addition, the effects of thickness and reinforcement ratio on the flexural performance and ultimate capacity of TRC composites were studied. Sixty-five specimens were tested under four point flexural tests and minimum reinforcement ratio to achieve deflection-hardening behavior was obtained experimentally. Analytical formulation was presented for minimum reinforcement ratio and verified with experimental results. The behavior of specimens indicated that ultimate strength of the reinforced composite with the same reinforcement ratio, increases with increasing yarn Tex, and smaller mesh size improve the performance of samples with the deflection-hardening behavior. The experimental results showed that uncrack capacity of specimens raised by increasing reinforcement ratio, which could be due to shrinkage of yarns in cement media that behave as pre-stressing for concrete. In addition, results showed that the effectiveness of twisted yarns is about fifty percent lower than of the untwisted ones.

Experimental investigation of tensile fatigue behaviour of Textile-Reinforced Concrete (TRC): Effect of fatigue load and strain rate

The objective of this study is to provide, by describing the experimental approach, a detailed description of the behaviour of multilayer Textile-Reinforced Concrete (TRC) composites under axial (tensile) olygocyclic fatigue. Different multilayer TRC composite configurations are proposed based on the carbon grid and glass grid associated with the carbon and/or glass fibre rods. A parametric study is conducted to validate the performance of these composite configurations with fatigue loads of 60% and 80% of the rupture load over 100 cycles. The experimental results show an increase in the rigidity and the dissipative capacity of the composite under fatigue loading with an invariance of the degradation mechanisms. An improvement in composite performance is observed with the addition of carbon and/or glass rods. Damage to composite during experiments is characterized by cracks orthogonal to the effort; their density is proportional to the applied fatigue load. The monotonous tensile tests (Post Fatigue) show that global and macroscopic performances have not declined after 100 cycles. The latex resin integration allows an improvement in residual capacities of composites that are subjected to cyclic tensile loading of up to 1000 cycles. The TRC composite performance increases with the rate of loading in the case of reinforcement with large size mesh.

Experimental study of the effect of simultaneous mechanical and high-temperature loadings on the behaviour of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC)

Textile-reinforced mortar (or textile-reinforced concrete, TRC) may be used to repair and/or strengthen structural elements of existing construction works (buildings, bridges, etc.) or may be used as constituent elements of new structures. When structures are subjected to fire, they are simultaneously submitted to high temperatures (potentially up to 1200°C) and mechanical loadings. The elevated temperature thermomechanical behaviour of TRC remains both poorly understood and poorly studied. This study describes the experimental identification, at the macroscale level, of the thermomechanical behaviour of two TRC composites. It shows that the thermomechanical behaviour of two TRC composites is nonlinear and progressively evolves with the increase of the temperature level. The evolution of certain characteristics (the ultimate stress, the stress corresponding to the loss of linearity of the first zone of the stress/strain curve, the stress corresponding to the start of the post cracking stage, the maximum thermomechanical strain, the initial stiffness, the stiffness of the post cracked composite) of the studied materials as a function of the temperature levels will be identified. When temperature levels vary from 100°C to 300°C, the main parameters (the ultimate stress, the stress corresponding to the loss of linearity of the first zone of the stress/strain curve, the stress corresponding to the start of the post cracking stage, the initial stiffness, the stiffness of the post cracked composite) of the studied materials are in general gradually decreased with the increase of the temperature level. The influence of a grid and chopped strand textile reinforcement on the cement based composite under thermomechanical loading is analysed and discussed. The experiments show a clear difference between the thermomechanical responses of two TRC composites. Additionally, the cracked specimens are examined.

Distributed cracking mechanisms in textile-reinforced concrete under high speed tensile tests

Distributed cracking mechanisms in textile reinforced concrete (TRC) subjected to high speed loads and temperature variations were studied using digital image correlation (DIC) analysis and finite difference modelling. Three different TRC composites made of laminated AR glass, warp-knitted AR glass and polypropylene were used. Both plain textile and TRC specimens were tested at a nominal strain rate of 100 s−1 at the temperature range of −30–80 °C. The non-uniform distribution of longitudinal strain in TRC systems was divided into three distinct zones of localization, shear lag, and uniform strain and the strain distribution in each zone was quantitatively measured. Tensile strength and postcrack stiffness decreased in various TRCs as the temperature increased with the highest tensile strength of 38.1 MPa, work-to-fracture of 46.6 J, and postcrack stiffness of 459.7 MPa recorded for the warp-knitted AR glass TRC specimens at −30 °C. A finite difference model was used to simulate the experimental crack spacing and stress–strain behaviors as well as the degradation in postcrack stiffness as a function of interfacial bond strength. The experimentally observed crack patterns and failure modes in TRC systems agreed with the numerical simulations and the measurements of slip zone size using DIC.

Correlation of constitutive response of hybrid textile reinforced concrete from tensile and flexural tests

This papers addresses the disparities that exist in measuring the constitutive properties of thin section cement composites using a combination of tensile and flexural tests. It is shown that when the test results are analyzed using a simplified linear analysis, the variability between the results of tensile and flexural strength can be as high as 200–300%. Experimental results of tension and flexural tests of laminated Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) composites with alkali resistant (AR) glass, carbon, aramid, polypropylene textile fabrics, and a hybrid reinforcing system with aramid and polypropylene are presented. Correlation of material properties is studied analytically using a parametric model for simulation of flexural behavior using a closed form solution based on tensile stress–strain constitutive relation. The flexural load carrying capacity of TRC composites is computed using a back-calculation approach, and parameters for a strain hardening material model are obtained using the closed form equations. While the parametric model over predicts the simulated tensile response for carbon and polypropylene TRCs, predictions are however consistent with experimental trends for aramid and glass TRCs. Detailed discussion of the differences between backcalculated and experimental tensile properties is presented. Results can be implemented as average moment–curvature relationship in the structural design and analysis of cement composites.