FRACTURE PROCESSES OF STRAIN-HARDENING CEMENT-BASED COMPOSITES (SHCC) UNDER DIRECT TENSION AND BENDING LOADS

摘要

One of the main characteristics of strain hardening cementitious composites (SHCC) is that they exhibit multiple fine cracks under tension loads. In this work an experimental program was carried out to study the influence of the particle size on the fracture processes of the material. Two SHCC mixes containing fine (maximum diameter of 0.20 mm) and coarse aggregates (maximum diameter of 1.18 mm) in their composition were produced using Portland cement (CP), fly ash (FA), chemical admixtures and PVA fibers in their composition. Crack formation was investigated using a high resolution image capturing procedure in the direct tension and bending tests. Crack density and crack width were determined using image analysis and correlated with the applied tension strain and bending displacement.