Title:
Micromechanical Tensile Behavior of Slurry Infiltrated Continuous-Fiber-Mat Reinforced Concrete (SIMCON)
Author(s):
Neven Krstulovic-Opara and Sary Malak
Publication:
Materials Journal
Volume:
94
Issue:
5
Appears on pages(s):
373-384
Keywords:
energy methods; fiber reinforced concrete; high-performance
construction materials; metal fibers; micromechanical modeling;
DOI:
10.14359/322
Date:
9/1/1997
Abstract:
This paper describes the micromechanical tensile behavior of a new High-Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HPFRC) called Slurry Infiltrated Mat Concrete (SIMCON). SIMCON is made by first placing continuous stainless steel fiber-mats into the form and then infiltrating the dense fiber network with a cement-based slurry. Due to the very high fiber aspect ratio, SIMCON exhibits a high increase in strength, toughness, and crack control, reaching tensile strengths of up to 17 MPa at strains of up to 1.5 percent with only 5.29 percent fiber volume fraction. Furthermore, since fiber-mats are easy to handle, as compared to short discontinuous fibers, SIMCON has no major construction-related shortcomings. It is therefore well-suited for repair, retrofit, and new construction of earthquake resistant buildings, bridges, and other structures that require high strength and ductility. However, to achieve optimal performance it is necessary to properly "engineer" the composite. In other words, a full understanding of the effect of different micromechanical parameters (e.g., fracture surface energy, specific work of the interfacial fracture, etc.) on the overall composite behavior is important for reaching anticipated performance. Once this relationship has been determined, desired composite behavior can be "engineered" by varying the amount and type of its constituents. The relationship between basic micromechanical parameters and tensile behavior of SIMCON is established in this paper using an energy approach. Theoretically derived values are compared to the experimentally obtained data.