Numerical Mesoscale Analysis of Textile Reinforced Concrete

Materials (Basel). 2020 Sep 6;13(18):3944. doi: 10.3390/ma13183944.

Abstract

This contribution presents a framework for Numerical Material Testing (NMT) of textile reinforced concrete based on the mesomechanical analysis of a Representative Volume Element (RVE). Hence, the focus of this work is on the construction of a proper RVE representing the dominant mechanical characteristics of Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC). For this purpose, the RVE geometry is derived from the periodic mesostructure. Furthermore, sufficient constitutive models for the individual composite constituents as well as their interfacial interactions are considered, accounting for the particular mechanical properties. The textile yarns are modeled as elastic transversal isotropic unidirectional layers. For the concrete matrix, an advanced gradient enhanced microplane model is utilized considering the complex plasticity and damage behavior at multiaxial loading conditions. The mechanical interactions of the constituents are modeled by an interface formulation considering debonding and friction as well as contact. These individual constitutive models are calibrated by corresponding experimental results. Finally, the damage mechanisms as well as the load bearing behavior of the constructed TRC-RVE are analyzed within an NMT procedure based on a first-order homogenization approach. Moreover, the effective constitutive characteristics of the composite at macroscale are derived. The numerical results are discussed and compared to experimental results.

Keywords: multiscale analysis; numerical material testing; textile reinforced concrete.