Effect of geogrid reinforcement on tensile failure of high-strength self-compacted concrete

Abstract

In this study, the tensile strength, failure mechanism and ductile behaviour of geogrid-reinforced high-strength self-compacting concrete discs subjected to both the Brazilian tensile strength test and a biaxial compressive test are studied. To determine the combined effects of geogrid layer numbers and inclination angle on the ultimate tensile strength of concrete samples, 21 experiments were conducted with up to three layers of geogrids inclined at angles of 0° to 90°, at increments of 15°. In addition, discrete-element numerical simulations were conducted using two-dimensional particle flow code to examine the failure behaviour of geogrid-reinforced high-strength self-compacting concrete discs. The numerical models were first calibrated by the experimental results and then the failure behaviour of models containing geogrids was investigated. Both experimental and numerical results demonstrate that augmenting the concrete discs with geogrids increases the ductility of specimens, especially after failure. As the number of geogrid layers increased, the tensile strength of specimens also increased, whereas the tensile strength and absorbed energy were the same for specimens with different numbers of geogrid layers and inclination angles of 75° and 90°. The specimen with three horizontal geogrid layers had the highest tensile strength, biaxial compression strength and ductility of all specimens tested.