钢纤维对水泥基复合材料抗起裂特性的影响

通过不同钢纤维体积分数及不同试件尺寸的预制缺口三点弯曲梁断裂试验,研究了普通乱向及定向钢纤维增强水泥基复合材料的抗起裂特性。利用试验测得的荷载-裂缝口张开位移曲线,分析了钢纤维对水泥基复合材料断裂性能的影响,并基于线性相关系数陡降法计算了起裂韧度。结果表明,定向钢纤维增强水泥基复合材料的起裂韧度明显高于普通乱向钢纤维增强水泥基复合材料;起裂韧度随钢纤维体积分数的增加而逐渐增大,当钢纤维体积分数达到0.9%左右时,定向钢纤维增强水泥基复合材料的起裂韧度值趋于稳定;在本试件高度范围内(40~100mm),起裂韧度随试件尺寸增加而逐渐增大,且定向钢纤维增强水泥基复合材料的增长趋势较为平缓。此外,从裂缝尖端夹杂改变其应力强度因子的角度解释了钢纤维的掺入及定向对起裂韧度的提高作用。     

同时确定钢纤维高强混凝土的断裂韧度及拉伸强度

考虑钢纤维高强混凝土试件细观非均质性对宏观断裂的影响机制,将钢纤维掺量、长度、直径及钢纤维抗拉强度等细观层面的钢纤维特征参数,引入钢纤维高强混凝土宏观断裂模型的虚拟裂缝扩展量的具体计算公式,从而发展了考虑钢纤维特性的可同时确定钢纤维高强混凝土的断裂韧度与拉伸强度的模型及方法。采用变化参数为钢纤维掺量和混凝土水灰比的三点弯曲试件,基于所提模型,同时确定了钢纤维高强混凝土的断裂韧度与拉伸强度,确定值与试验拉伸强度值以及尺寸效应模型计算的断裂韧度吻合良好。基于测试数据离散性为钢纤维高强混凝土固有属性的事实,采用确定的断裂韧度及拉伸强度,建立起钢纤维高强混凝土塑性——准脆性——线弹性不同结构断裂模式的±20%全曲线,其可涵盖实验室条件下的所有试验数据。该文所提模型及方法适用于钢纤维高强混凝土及高强混凝土,可为钢纤维高强混凝土等复合材料真实断裂韧度与拉伸强度的确定,及个性化结构断裂破坏的预测等关键科技问题提供依据。     

不同加载速率下高性能水泥基复合材料断裂性能研究

为研究加载速率对高性能水泥基复合材料(High-performance cement-based composites,HPCC)断裂性能的影响,本研究对带预制裂缝的HPCC矩形梁进行了三点弯曲测试.以裂缝嘴张开位移(Crack mouth opening displacement,CMOD)为加载控制参数,加载速率分别为0.001 mm/s、0.01 mm/s和0.1 mm/s,试件内钢纤维体积掺量分别为0％和2％(均为质量分数).基于荷载-裂缝嘴张开位移(P-CMOD)曲线分析了第一裂纹应力、弹性模量、弯曲强度、失稳韧度以及断裂能等一系列断裂特征参数随加载速率的变化规律.试验结果表明:(i)第一裂纹应力和弹性模量几乎不受钢纤维含量和加载速率的影响;(ii)HPCC弯曲强度与应变率比呈对数关系,且含钢纤维HPCC的弯曲强度率效应更明显;(iii)含钢纤维HPCC的失稳韧度和断裂能有很大程度的提升,但其对加载速率的敏感性较低.掺钢纤维能够有效提高HPCC材料抵抗冲击荷载的能力.     

反分析法确定钢纤维水泥砂浆拉应力与裂缝张开位移关系

在数值模拟钢纤维混凝土结构或构件和用基于断裂力学理论的设计方法设计钢纤维混凝土结构或构件时,钢纤维混凝土材料σ-w关系是一个重要的材料参数。该文根据三点弯曲缺口梁的荷载与裂缝张开位移(CMOD)曲线用反分析法确定了钢纤维水泥砂浆的σ-w关系。试验制作了五种不同体积含量的钢纤维水泥砂浆单轴拉伸试件、圆柱体压缩试件和梁试件,钢纤维体积含量分别为0.5%、1.0%、1.5%、2.0%和2.5%。试验发现,当钢纤维体积含量较小时,三点弯曲缺口梁的荷载与裂缝张开位移曲线呈现CMOD软化特性;而当钢纤维体积含量较大时,三点弯曲缺口梁的荷载与裂缝张开位移曲线呈现CMOD强化特性。对有CMOD软化特性的钢纤维水泥砂浆,可用三折线软化模型来模拟钢纤维水泥砂浆的σ-w关系;对有CMOD强化特性的钢纤维水泥砂浆,可用应力跌落-常残余强度模型来拟合。     

确定混凝土开裂与拉伸强度及双K断裂参数

该文考虑混凝土材料的非均质特性,发展了确定无尺寸效应的混凝土开裂强度与起裂韧度、拉伸强度与断裂韧度等材料参数的断裂理论与相应方法。基于三点弯曲、楔入劈拉、四点弯曲等不同类型混凝土试件的断裂试验,确定出对应的开裂强度与起裂韧度、拉伸强度与断裂韧度等材料参数,并与试验强度值及由双K断裂模型确定的双K断裂参数进行了比较,从而验证了所提模型与方法的合理性与适用性。基于确定的材料参数,分别建立了混凝土起裂与断裂破坏的全曲线,给出了确定无尺寸效应起裂韧度的混凝土试件最小理论尺寸。建立了起裂荷载与起裂韧度之间的解析公式,对三点弯曲、楔入劈拉、四点弯曲等不同类型混凝土试件的起裂荷载,以及不同混凝土的起裂韧度进行了成功预测。     

试件厚度对超高韧性水泥基复合材料弯曲性能的影响

通过不同厚度超高韧性水泥基复合材料（UHTCC）试件的四点弯曲试验,研究了厚度对其弯曲性能的影响,并通过理论量纲分析做了进一步解释。结合ASTM C 1609标准,提出了以单位塑性铰区体积的能量消耗Tv为参数的韧性评价方法。试验结果表明：不同厚度试件的名义弯曲应力-弯曲应变曲线与裂缝宽度变化曲线几乎重合;挠度随厚度增大...     

用实用解析法计算混凝土基于裂缝粘聚力的新KR阻力曲线

对三点弯曲梁混凝土试件,虚拟断裂过程区上粘聚力呈线性或双线性分布的,可以用实用解析法计算混凝土双K断裂参数及新KR阻力曲线。实用解析方法是用简单函数拟合Green函数,将粘聚力在裂缝尖端产生的应力强度因子积分算式转化为简单的算术表达式。该方法无需进行数值积分,简化了计算过程。采用不同尺寸的三点弯曲梁混凝土试件的试验结果...     

混凝土劈裂抗拉强度和弯曲抗压强度尺寸效应的细观数值分析

混凝土作为非均质材料,其材料性能存在随试件几何尺寸变化的尺寸效应。该文在细观层次上将混凝土看作由粗骨料、砂浆和二者界面过渡区组成的三相复合材料,采用刚体弹簧元数值方法模拟了混凝土的劈裂抗拉强度和弯曲抗压强度的尺寸效应,并与已有的试验结果进行了对比验证。结果表明:劈裂加载的试件破坏形态和劈裂抗拉强度与试验结果均具有良好的一致性,并且小尺寸试件所表现出的尺寸效应要明显于大尺寸试件;对不同尺寸四点弯曲钢筋混凝土梁开展细观数值分析得到跨中截面混凝土的弯曲抗压强度,随着梁有效高度的增加,名义弯曲抗压强度整体上呈现降低的趋势,但当梁有效高度大于240mm时趋于稳定。     

低热水泥全级配混凝土断裂试验及尺寸效应分析

该文分析了低热水泥全级配混凝土断裂性能的尺寸效应规律。通过在大坝工程施工现场浇筑成型试件有效高度为0.75 m、1.5 m和2.25 m的楔入劈拉试件并开展试验,获得低热水泥全级配混凝土稳定的双K断裂参数。基于试验结果,采用理论方法推求全级配混凝土无尺寸效应的失稳和起裂韧度,预测任意尺寸试件的最大和起裂水平荷载。研究发现,当韧带高度与骨料最大粒径比值大于等于6.0后,双K断裂参数趋于稳定。尺寸效应模型及其演化形式可用于确定全级配混凝土无尺寸效应的起裂和失稳断裂韧度,定量分析强度与韧度对裂缝扩展的影响,并可通过引入等效几何参数,分别建立任意尺寸试件最大和起裂水平荷载的预测方程。     

自重对混凝土三点弯曲梁断裂性能的影响

自重对三点弯曲梁试件的断裂性能有重要影响,而以往基于三点弯曲梁研究混凝土的断裂性能时,很少考虑自重引起的试件初始裂缝张口位移（CMOD_ini）的影响。为了研究CMOD_ini对三点弯曲梁断裂性能的影响规律,给出了CMOD_ini及考虑CMOD_ini影响的有效裂缝长度（a_c）和失稳断裂韧度（K_ICun）的计算公式,并用不同试件尺寸及不同初始缝高比的三点弯曲梁试验数据进行了对比分析。结果表明:当试件初始缝高比为0.4时,CMOD_ini受试件尺寸影响较小,即使试件尺寸达到2200 mm×550 mm×240 mm时,自重对其CMOD_ini、a_c及K_ICun的影响均小于5%。CMOD_ini受初始缝高比的影响较大,且随着初始缝高比的增大而增大,对于尺寸为1143 mm×305 mm×76 mm,初始缝高比为0.818的三点弯曲梁试件,自重对其CMOD_ini、ac及K_ICun的影响分别为24.26%、1.73%和17.31%。可见,当三点弯曲梁试件尺寸及初始缝高比均较大时应该考虑自重引起的CMOD_ini的影响。     

Experimental investigation on uniaxial tensile strength of hybrid fibre concrete

In an experimental study on fracture properties of hybrid fibre concrete, specimens with varying fibre content (mixtures of short and long fibres) were loaded in uniaxial tension. Dog-bone shaped specimens of four different sizes in a size range of 1:8 were tested. Focus of the study was the determination of the size effect on nominal strength and fracture processes. A vacuum impregnation technique was used to investigate the fracture process. Experiments showed that multiple cracks, which formed before the peak, localised into one major crack beyond peak. Multiple cracking could be obtained by increasing the amount of thin short fibres whereas the large fibres can enhance the bridging of localised macrocracks. With decreasing strength, the size effect on the strength appears to increase. It is observed that the size effect on nominal tensile strength decreases with increasing material ductility. Preliminary analysis of the results showed that the observed size effect can be considered as a combination of statistical and structural size effects.     

Inclined tensile strength of steel fibres in a cement-based composite

An investigation of the behaviour of steel reinforcing fibres in a cement-based composite inclined to the direction of tensile load was carried out. Steel fibres with widely differing fibre parameters were tested and a new fibre characteristic, the inclined tensile strength (its), was identified. It was observed that the value of the its decreased with increasing inclination angle but the decrease varied according to the type of fibre. The ultimate tensile force sustained by the inclined fibres depended also on the magnitude of the strain. It indicated that for some types of fibre the properties of a randomly reinforced fibre composite after the first crack depended much more on the inclined fibres and their its than on the fibres aligned to the principal stress.     

Determination of Stress Intensity Factor for Cracks in Orthotropic Composite Materials using Digital Image Correlation

Abstract: This paper focuses on the application of the digital image correlation (DIC) technique to determine the stress intensity factor (SIF) for cracks in orthotropic composites. DIC is a full‐field technique for measuring the surface displacements of a deforming object and can be applied to any type of material. To determine the SIF from full‐field displacement data, the asymptotic expansion of the crack‐tip displacement field is required. In this paper the expansion of the crack tip displacement field is derived from an existing solution for strain fields. Unidirectional fibre composite panels with an edge crack aligned along the fibre were tested under remote tensile loading and the displacements were recorded using DIC. The SIF was calculated from the experimental data by fitting the theoretical displacement field using the least squares method. The SIF thus determined was in good agreement with theoretical results and therefore demonstrates the applicability of the derived displacement field and DIC technique for studying fracture in composites.     

Modeling of fiber toughening in cementitious materials using an R-curve approach

This paper presents the theoretical formulation describing the role of fibers in enhancing the fracture toughness of quasi-brittle cement based materials. The formulation is based on the well known R-curve approach which correlates the increase of the apparent fracture toughness of a material with the existence of a pre-critical stable crack growth region.By assuming that the critical crack length in plain matrix is a function of an initial crack length a ₀, a formulation for the R-curves has recently been derived and applied to predict the response of positive and negative geometry specimens of various sizes and materials. This approach is further applied to uniaxial tensile specimens containing various fiber types. Fiber reinforcement is modeled by means of applying closing pressure on crack surfaces resulting in closure of the crack faces and a decrease in the stress intensity factor at the tip of the propagating crack. Incorporation of these two factors in the energy balance equations for crack growth results in increases in both the slope and the plateau value of the R-curve representing matrix response. Enhancement in material response is shown to occur only if precritical crack growth exists, causing fibers to convert the stable cracking process into an increase in load carrying capacity of the material. Fracture response of fiber reinforced composites can be predicted up to the bend-over-point. The theoretical predictions are compared with the experimental results of cement-based composites containing unidirectional, continuous glass, steel or polypropylene fibers.     

Fracture and fatigue of discontinuously reinforced copper/tungsten composites

The strength, toughness and resistance to cyclic crack propagation of composites consisting of copper reinforced with short tungsten wires of various lengths have been studied and the results compared with the behaviour of continuously reinforced composites manufactured by the same method, i.e. by vacuum hot-pressing. It has been found that whereas the resistance to fatigue crack growth of continuously reinforced composites is very similar to that of continuous Al/stainless steel composites reported elsewhere, the addition of short fibres completely changes the mode of fracture, and no direct comparisons are possible. In effect, short fibres inhibit single crack growth by causing plastic flow to be distributed rather than localized, and although these composites are much less strong than continuous fibre composites, they nevertheless have much greater fatigue resistance. The fracture toughness of the composites is thought to be derived simply from the separate contributions of matrix and fibre plastic flow and, in composites containing fibres near to the critical length, from the very substantial work of fibre pull-out.     

Cracking and toughening of concrete and polymer-concrete dispersed with short steel wires

A fibre-strengthened brittle solid can crack and fracture in a number of ways and simple models can be used to describe quantitatively the fracture processes. This paper discusses some of these models and compares experimental measurements of cracking stress and toughness for two brittle fibrous composites with the theoretical predictions. The two brittle matrices are concrete and concrete impregnated with polymethylmethacrylate reinforced by discontinuous (short) high strength steel wires. It involved extracting a single steel wire from each brittle matrix to evaluate the debonding stress and pull-out stress as a function of fibre embedded length. These key material parameters and the energetics of cracking determined in three-point flexural experiments, together with the cracking and toughening equations are then used to characterize the fracture behaviour of fibrestrengthened concrete and polymer-concrete composites.     

Fracture characteristics of Al/zircon particulate composites

A study has been made of the effects of volume fraction and size of zircon particulates on fracture toughness and micromechanisms of fracture in Al/zircon particulate composites. The composites are prepared by a liquid metallurgy technique using volume fractions of zircon in the range 0·06–0·18 and particulate sizes between 75 and 250 μm. The study was conducted on composites in the cast and the forged conditions. The experimental programme included a particle size distribution study, tensile tests, fracture mechanics tests leading to J_1c and crack tip opening displacement evaluation, fractographic investigations, etc. The process zone size at the crack tip was evaluated from crack tip stresses and strains, and compared with the interparticle spacing and particle diameter in order to understand the micromechanics of cracking. The Al/zircon composites were compared with Al/graphite composites in terms of strength and fracture toughness as a function of volume fraction of the filler phase, and regions of optimum performance were identified.     

Fracture behaviour of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics

This paper deals with the fracture performance of injection moulded long glass fibre composites based on polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polypropylene (PP) matrices. The tensile behaviour of these composites is analysed using the shear lag theory taking into consideration the interfacial shear strength, fibre length distribution and fibre orientation in the mouldings. The fracture performance is investigated using the post yield fracture mechanics approach. The crack growth resistance of the PP and PBT long fibre composite was found to increase with increasing fibre volume content up to 35%. Above 35% a plateau in the fracture performance was observed. A combination of high fibre degradation and a change in the fibre orientation pattern of the moulded pieces is found to be responsible for the plateau region in the performance of the high concentration system. In fact, the dependence of the maximum crack growth resistance of the composites on fibre length and fibre orientation is also controlled by testing temperature. The competition between fibre-induced matrix deformation and the fibre pull-out determines the ability of the composites to resist crack propagation.     

Probability distribution of energetic-statistical size effect in quasibrittle fracture

The physical sources of randomness in quasibrittle fracture described by the cohesive crack model are discussed and theoretical arguments for the basic form of the probability distribution are presented. The probability distribution of the size effect on the nominal strength of structures made of heterogeneous quasibrittle materials is derived, under certain simplifying assumptions, from the nonlocal generalization of Weibull theory. Attention is limited to structures of positive geometry failing at the initiation of macroscopic crack growth from a zone of distributed cracking. It is shown that, for small structures, which do not dwarf the fracture process zone (FPZ), the mean size effect is deterministic, agreeing with the energetic size effect theory, which describes the size effect due to stress redistribution and the associated energy release caused by finite size of the FPZ formed before failure. Material randomness governs the statistical distribution of the nominal strength of structure and, for very large structure sizes, also the mean. The large-size and small-size asymptotic properties of size effect are determined, and the reasons for the existence of intermediate asymptotics are pointed out. Asymptotic matching is then used to obtain an approximate closed-form analytical expression for the probability distribution of failure load for any structure size. For large sizes, the probability distribution converges to the Weibull distribution for the weakest link model, and for small sizes, it converges to the Gaussian distribution justified by Daniels' fiber bundle model. Comparisons with experimental data on the size-dependence of the modulus of rupture of concrete and laminates are shown. Monte Carlo simulations with finite elements are the subject of ongoing studies by Pang at Northwestern University to be reported later.