Assessment of Methods to Derive Tensile Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Composites

Abstract

There is no unified method for deriving the tensile properties of fiber-reinforced ultra-high-performance cementitious composites (UHPCC). This study compares the most common material tests based on a large series of laboratory tests performed on a self-developed UHPCC mixture. The cementitious matrix, with a compressive strength of over 150 MPa and a matrix tensile strength of 8–10 MPa, was reinforced with 2% by volume of 15 mm long and 0.2 mm diameter straight high-strength steel microfibers. Over 100 uniaxial tensile tests were performed on three test configurations using cylindrical cores drilled out from larger prismatic specimens in three perpendicular directions. In addition to uniaxial tests, flexural tests on prismatic elements and flexural tests on thin plates were conducted, and the tensile properties were derived through digital image correlation (DIC) measurements and inverse analysis. Furthermore, splitting tensile tests on cylindrical specimens were employed to ascertain the tensile properties of the matrix. The outcomes of the diverse laboratory tests are presented and discussed in detail. The relationships between crack width and deflection in the context of flexural tests were developed and presented. In conjunction with compression tests and modulus of elasticity tests, the constitutive law is presented for the investigated materials.