Exploring the mechanical properties of steel- and polypropylene-reinforced ultra-high-performance concrete through numerical analyses and experimental multi-target digital image correlation

Abstract

This study presents experimental and numerical investigations on the mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) reinforced with single and hybrid micro- and macro-steel and polypropylene fibers. For this purpose, a series of cubic, cylindrical, dog-bone, and prismatic beam specimens (total fiber by volume = 1%, and 2%) were tested under compressive, tensile, and flexural loadings. A method, namely multi-target digital image correlation (MT-DIC) was used to monitor the displacement and deflection values. The obtained experimental data were subsequently used to discuss influential parameters, i.e., flexural strength, tensile strength, size effect, etc. Numerical analyses were also carried out using finite element software to account for the sensitivity of different parameters. Furthermore, nonlinear regression analyses were conducted to obtain the flexural load-deflection curves. The results showed that the MT-DIC method was capable of estimating the tensile and flexural responses as well as the location of the crack with high accuracy. In addition, the regression analyses showed excellent consistency with the experimental results, with correlation coefficients close to unity. Furthermore, size-effect modeling revealed that modified Bazant theory yielded the best estimation of the size-effect phenomenon compared to other models.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

UHPC / MT-DIC / flexural behavior / tensile behavior / steel fiber / polypropylene fiber

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