Numerical Modelling of Textile Reinforced Concrete

Paper in proceeding, 2013

The design and building construction industry is in need of a paradigm shift. One way of dealing with this need is by exploring the use of alternative building materials, such as Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC). TRC encompasses a fine-grained concrete matrix reinforced by multi-axial textile fabrics, which replaces the traditionally used reinforcement methods. Investigations of new materials are necessary in order to quantify its expected structural performance and integrity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural behaviour of a thin TRC slab under bending stress. Four-point bending tests were conducted on thin TRC specimens strengthened by carbon fibre textiles. One of the test configurations was modelled using non-linear finite element methods. The influence of varying the contact perimeter between the textile reinforcement mesh and the concrete matrix was also studied. The finite element software DIANA with the pre- and post-processor FX+ was used. The numerical analysis primarily consisted of 2-D non-linear FE modelling of a thin TRC slab specimen. Cracking of the cement matrix was modelled with a smeared rotating crack model. The bond between the textile and the cement matrix was modelled using bond-slip, with input based on pull-out tests from literature. Simplified bi-linear stress-strain laws were assigned to the textile reinforcement. The main failure mode observed was in bending with the delamination of the textiles from the mortar or by the tensile failure of the textile.