Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the flexural behavior of high-ductility fiber-reinforced concrete (HDC) and propose a suitable method for evaluating flexural toughness. The flexural strength, deformation, and toughness of HDC were investigated through four-point bending tests with...

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Main Authors: Yonggang Ding, Yunfei Li, Xiangyang Zhao, Jie Dai, Hualong Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-12-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/23/12313
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author Yonggang Ding
Yunfei Li
Xiangyang Zhao
Jie Dai
Hualong Xu
author_facet Yonggang Ding
Yunfei Li
Xiangyang Zhao
Jie Dai
Hualong Xu
author_sort Yonggang Ding
collection DOAJ
description The main purpose of this study was to investigate the flexural behavior of high-ductility fiber-reinforced concrete (HDC) and propose a suitable method for evaluating flexural toughness. The flexural strength, deformation, and toughness of HDC were investigated through four-point bending tests with specimens of 40 × 40 × 160 mm. The test parameters were fiber volume fractions (0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%), water–binder ratios (0.24, 0.26, 0.29, and 0.32), and ages (28 d and 56 d). The experimental results showed that polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers led to significant improvement in the flexural behavior of HDC due to its strain-hardening behavior and excellent crack dispersion capacity. The ultimate flexural strength of HDC with 2% PVA fibers of about 15.32 MPa showed an increase of up to 221%. The deformation and flexural toughness ratios were 23 times and 1.43 times higher, respectively, than the specimens without fibers. A simple and practical method for evaluating the flexural toughness of HDC was proposed, which solved many problems with the existing methods. This method made full use of the peak load, which overcame the difficulty of identifying the initial crack information, solved the insufficient deflection limit, and provided a more comprehensive and accurate evaluation by selecting characteristic points evenly distributed throughout the loading process.
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spelling doaj.art-6df20ca5f55f4700ad9d2d4cb90a520c2023-11-24T10:34:26ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-12-0112231231310.3390/app122312313Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile ConcreteYonggang Ding0Yunfei Li1Xiangyang Zhao2Jie Dai3Hualong Xu4College of Civil Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, ChinaCollege of Civil Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, ChinaBanqiao Reservior Administration, Zhumadian 463000, ChinaThe main purpose of this study was to investigate the flexural behavior of high-ductility fiber-reinforced concrete (HDC) and propose a suitable method for evaluating flexural toughness. The flexural strength, deformation, and toughness of HDC were investigated through four-point bending tests with specimens of 40 × 40 × 160 mm. The test parameters were fiber volume fractions (0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%), water–binder ratios (0.24, 0.26, 0.29, and 0.32), and ages (28 d and 56 d). The experimental results showed that polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers led to significant improvement in the flexural behavior of HDC due to its strain-hardening behavior and excellent crack dispersion capacity. The ultimate flexural strength of HDC with 2% PVA fibers of about 15.32 MPa showed an increase of up to 221%. The deformation and flexural toughness ratios were 23 times and 1.43 times higher, respectively, than the specimens without fibers. A simple and practical method for evaluating the flexural toughness of HDC was proposed, which solved many problems with the existing methods. This method made full use of the peak load, which overcame the difficulty of identifying the initial crack information, solved the insufficient deflection limit, and provided a more comprehensive and accurate evaluation by selecting characteristic points evenly distributed throughout the loading process.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/23/12313high-ductility fiber-reinforced concreteflexural behaviortoughnessevaluation method
spellingShingle Yonggang Ding
Yunfei Li
Xiangyang Zhao
Jie Dai
Hualong Xu
Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete
Applied Sciences
high-ductility fiber-reinforced concrete
flexural behavior
toughness
evaluation method
title Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete
title_full Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete
title_fullStr Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete
title_full_unstemmed Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete
title_short Investigation into the Flexural Toughness and Methods of Evaluating Ductile Concrete
title_sort investigation into the flexural toughness and methods of evaluating ductile concrete
topic high-ductility fiber-reinforced concrete
flexural behavior
toughness
evaluation method
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/23/12313
work_keys_str_mv AT yonggangding investigationintotheflexuraltoughnessandmethodsofevaluatingductileconcrete
AT yunfeili investigationintotheflexuraltoughnessandmethodsofevaluatingductileconcrete
AT xiangyangzhao investigationintotheflexuraltoughnessandmethodsofevaluatingductileconcrete
AT jiedai investigationintotheflexuraltoughnessandmethodsofevaluatingductileconcrete
AT hualongxu investigationintotheflexuraltoughnessandmethodsofevaluatingductileconcrete