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Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete
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Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 13437

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Marcos García Alberti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil-Construcción, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, E.T.S.I. Caminos, Canales y Puertos, C/Profesor Aranguren s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: fiber reinforced concrete; sustainability and durability of concrete structures; STEM; higher education; BIM; digitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jaime C. Galvez

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil: Construcción, E.T.S de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: sustainabiliy, fiber reinforced concrete, durability, nanotechnology, structural integrity, multiscale methods
Dr. Alejandro Enfedaque

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Civil: Construcción, E.T.S de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: fibers; concrete; concrete durability; glass fiber reinforced concrete; material modelling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, numerous scientific advances together with practical applications have been achieved in the field of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC). Optimized reinforced concrete structures with total or partial substitution of steel rebars by steel or macrosynthetic fibers have become an attractive alternative, producing cost savings and improving the material’s sustainability. Moreover, new types of fibers appear continuously, increasing the number of fibers which are suitable for concrete. The presence of fibers may enhance the behavior of concrete elements when exposed to dynamic loadings such as impact, or seismic situations, fatigue, fire or high temperatures and can provide multifunctional characteristics or improve durability and sustainability of concrete. Having said that, given the quasi-brittle nature of concrete, most fibers improve the tensile strength, modifying the fracture behavior of the material. Thus, most of the advances in the use of fibers and their future applications as a concrete addition rely on improvements observed in the fracture behavior. The fracture behavior of FRC depends on the type of fiber, the fiber dosage, the fiber positioning, and all the variables that fracture mechanics study. This Special Issue seeks to gather recent research encompassing all these variations, believing that this composite material could become more widely used.

Dr. Marcos G. Alberti
Dr. Jaime C. Galvez
Dr. Alejandro Enfedaque
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Fiber-reinforced concrete
  • Fiber orientation factor
  • Fracture mechanics of quasibrittle materials
  • Structural concrete
  • Fracture size effect

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2741 KiB  
Article
Suitability of Constitutive Models of the Structural Concrete Codes When Applied to Polyolefin Fibre Reinforced Concrete
by Alejandro Enfedaque, Fernando Suárez, Marcos G. Alberti and Jaime C. Gálvez
Materials 2022, 15(6), 2323; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15062323 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1696
Abstract
The use of fibres as structural reinforcement in concrete is included in standards, providing guidelines to reproduce their behaviour, which have been proven adequate when steel fibres are used. Nevertheless, in recent years new materials, such as polyolefin fibres, have undergone significant development [...] Read more.
The use of fibres as structural reinforcement in concrete is included in standards, providing guidelines to reproduce their behaviour, which have been proven adequate when steel fibres are used. Nevertheless, in recent years new materials, such as polyolefin fibres, have undergone significant development as concrete reinforcement. This work gives insight on how suitable the constitutive models proposed by the Model Code 2010 (MC2010) are in the case of such polymer fibres. A set of numerical models has been carried out to reproduce the material behaviour proposed by the MC2010 and the approach based on the softening function proposed by the authors. The results show remarkable differences between the experimental results and the numerical simulations when the constitutive models described in the MC2010 are employed for different polyolefin fibre reinforced concrete mixes, while the material behaviour can be reproduced with greater accuracy if the softening function proposed by the authors is employed when this type of macro-polymer fibres is used. Moreover, the relatively complex behaviour of polyolefin fibre reinforced concrete may be reproduced by using such constitutive model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete)
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14 pages, 4771 KiB  
Article
Effects of Low Temperatures on Flexural Strength of Macro-Synthetic Fiber Reinforced Concrete: Experimental and Numerical Investigation
by Stanislav Aidarov, Alejandro Nogales, Igor Reynvart, Nikola Tošić and Albert de la Fuente
Materials 2022, 15(3), 1153; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031153 - 2 Feb 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2479
Abstract
Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is an attractive alternative to traditional steel bar-reinforced concrete structures, as evidenced by the constantly increasing market consumption of structural fibers for this purpose. In spite of significant research dedicated to FRC, less attention has been given to the effects [...] Read more.
Fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) is an attractive alternative to traditional steel bar-reinforced concrete structures, as evidenced by the constantly increasing market consumption of structural fibers for this purpose. In spite of significant research dedicated to FRC, less attention has been given to the effects of low temperatures on the mechanical properties of FRC, which can be critical for a variety of structural typologies and regions. With this in mind, an experimental program was carried out to assess the flexural behavior of macro-synthetic fiber-reinforced concrete (MSFRC) at different temperatures (from 20 °C to −30 °C) by means of three-point bending notched beam tests. The tested MSFRCs were produced by varying the content of polypropylene fibers (4 and 8 kg/m3). The results proved that the flexural strength capacity of all MSFRCs improved with decreasing temperature. Finite element analyses were then used to calibrate constitutive models following fib Model Code 2010 guidelines and to formulate empirical adjustments for taking into account the effects of low temperatures. The outcomes of this research are the basis for future experimental and numerical efforts meant to improve the design of MSFRCs subjected to low temperatures during service conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete)
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12 pages, 4361 KiB  
Article
Study of Flexural and Crack Propagation Behavior of Layered Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Mortar Using the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) Technique
by Shaoqiang Meng, Jiaming Li, Zhihao Liu, Wenwei Wang, Yanfei Niu and Xiaowei Ouyang
Materials 2021, 14(16), 4700; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164700 - 20 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2167
Abstract
By optimizing the distribution of steel fibers in fiber-reinforced cementitious mortar (FRCM) through the layered structure, the role of fibers can be fully utilized, thus improving the flexural behavior. In this study, the flexural behavior of layered FRCM at different thicknesses (25 mm, [...] Read more.
By optimizing the distribution of steel fibers in fiber-reinforced cementitious mortar (FRCM) through the layered structure, the role of fibers can be fully utilized, thus improving the flexural behavior. In this study, the flexural behavior of layered FRCM at different thicknesses (25 mm, 50 mm, 75 mm, 100 mm) of the steel fiber layer was investigated. The evolution of the crack propagation behavior was analyzed using the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The results showed that the steel fiber layer thickness of 75 mm has the best flexural behavior. Moreover, the crack propagation path is more tortuous. The maximum value of crack opening displacement (COM) increases with the increase in fiber thickness. In addition, increasing the bottom layer thickness can increase the height of the tensile zone, but the interface inhibits the increase of the tensile zone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete)
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14 pages, 2402 KiB  
Article
Fracture and Size Effect of PFRC Specimens Simulated by Using a Trilinear Softening Diagram: A Predictive Approach
by Fernando Suárez, Jaime C. Gálvez, Marcos G. Alberti and Alejandro Enfedaque
Materials 2021, 14(14), 3795; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14143795 - 7 Jul 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1734
Abstract
The size effect on plain concrete specimens is well known and can be correctly captured when performing numerical simulations by using a well characterised softening function. Nevertheless, in the case of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete (PFRC), this is not directly applicable, since using only diagram [...] Read more.
The size effect on plain concrete specimens is well known and can be correctly captured when performing numerical simulations by using a well characterised softening function. Nevertheless, in the case of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete (PFRC), this is not directly applicable, since using only diagram cannot capture the material behaviour on elements with different sizes due to dependence of the orientation factor of the fibres with the size of the specimen. In previous works, the use of a trilinear softening diagram proved to be very convenient for reproducing fracture of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete elements, but only if it is previously adapted for each specimen size. In this work, a predictive methodology is used to reproduce fracture of polyolefin-fibre-reinforced concrete specimens of different sizes under three-point bending. Fracture is reproduced by means of a well-known embedded cohesive model, with a trilinear softening function that is defined specifically for each specimen size. The fundamental points of these softening functions are defined a priori by using empirical expressions proposed in past works, based on an extensive experimental background. Therefore, the numerical results are obtained in a predictive manner and then compared with a previous experimental campaign in which PFRC notched specimens of different sizes were tested with a three-point bending test setup, showing that this approach properly captures the size effect, although some values of the fundamental points in the trilinear diagram could be defined more accurately. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete)
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23 pages, 4050 KiB  
Article
Scaled Approach to Designing the Minimum Hybrid Reinforcement of Concrete Beams
by Andrea Gorino and Alessandro P. Fantilli
Materials 2020, 13(22), 5166; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13225166 - 16 Nov 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1720
Abstract
To study the brittle/ductile behavior of concrete beams reinforced with low amounts of rebar and fibers, a new multi-scale model is presented. It is used to predict the flexural response of an ideal Hybrid Reinforced Concrete (HRC) beam in bending, and it is [...] Read more.
To study the brittle/ductile behavior of concrete beams reinforced with low amounts of rebar and fibers, a new multi-scale model is presented. It is used to predict the flexural response of an ideal Hybrid Reinforced Concrete (HRC) beam in bending, and it is validated with the results of a specific experimental campaign, and some tests available in the technical literature. Both the numerical and the experimental measurements define a linear relationship between the amount of reinforcement and the Ductility Index (DI). The latter is a non-dimensional function depending on the difference between the ultimate load and the effective cracking load of a concrete beam. As a result, a new design-by-testing procedure can be established to determine the minimum reinforcement of HRC elements. It corresponds to DI = 0, and can be considered as a linear combination of the minimum area of rebar (of the same reinforced concrete beam) and the minimum fiber volume fraction (of the same fiber-reinforced concrete beam), respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete)
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21 pages, 18776 KiB  
Article
Propagation Speed of Dynamic Mode-I Cracks in Self-Compacting Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete
by Kaiming Pan, Rena C. Yu, Xiaoxin Zhang, Gonzalo Ruiz and Zhimin Wu
Materials 2020, 13(18), 4053; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13184053 - 12 Sep 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2226
Abstract
The objective of this study is to measure the crack propagation speed in three types of self-compacting concrete reinforced with steel fibers loaded under four different loading rates. Central-notched prismatic beams with two types of fibers (13 mm and 30 mm in length), [...] Read more.
The objective of this study is to measure the crack propagation speed in three types of self-compacting concrete reinforced with steel fibers loaded under four different loading rates. Central-notched prismatic beams with two types of fibers (13 mm and 30 mm in length), three fiber volume ratios, 0.51%, 0.77% and 1.23%, were fabricated. Four strain gages were glued on one side of the specimen notch to measure the crack propagation velocity, a fifth one at the notch tip to estimate the strain rates upon the initiation of a cohesive crack and the stress-free crack. A servo-hydraulic testing machine and a drop-weight impact device were employed to conduct three-point bending tests at four loading-point displacement rates, the former to perform tests at 2.2 μm/s, 22 mm/s and the latter for those at 1.77 m/s, 2.66 m/s, respectively. With lower fiber contents, smooth mode-I cracks were formed, the crack speed reached the order of 1 mm/s and 20 m/s. However, crack velocities up to 1417 m/s were obtained for the concrete with high content of fibers under impact loading. This value is fairly close to the theoretically predicted terminal crack velocity of 1600–1700 m/s. Numerical simulations based on cohesive theories of fracture and preliminary results based on the technique of Digital Image Correlation are also presented to complement those obtained from the strain gages. In addition, the toughness indices are calculated under all four loading rates. Strain hardening (softening) behavior accounting from the initiation of the first crack is observed for all three types of concrete at low (high) loading rates. Significant enhancement in the energy absorption capacity is observed with increased fiber content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fracture Mechanics of Fiber Reinforced Concrete)
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