Mechanics Behavior of Ultra High Toughness Cementitious Composites after Freezing and Thawing

Mechanical behaviors of UHTCC after freezing and thawing were investigated,and compared with those of steel fiber reinforced concrete（SFRC）,air-entrained concrete（AEC） and ordinary concrete（OC）.Four point bending tests had been applied after different freezing-thawing cycles（0,50,100,150,200 and 300 cycles,respectively）.The results showed that residual flexural strength of UHTCC after 300 freezing-thawing cycles was 10.62 MPa（70% of no freezing thawing ones）,while 1.58 MPa（17% of no freezing thawing ones） for SFRC.Flexural toughness of UHTCC decreased by 17%,while 70% for SFRC comparatively.It has been demonstrated experimentally that UHTCC without any air-entraining agent could resist freezing-thawing and retain its high toughness characteristic in cold environment.Consequently,UHTCC could be put into practice for new-built or retrofit of infrastructures in cold regions.

A dynamic constitutive model of ultra high toughness cementitious composites

In this study,an explicit dynamic constitutive model was established for ultra high toughness cementitious composites(UHTCCs).The model,based on the Holmquist–Johnson–Cook(HJC)model,includes tensile and compressive damage evolution,hydrostatic pressure,strain rate,and the Lode angle effect.The proposed model was embedded in LS-DYNA software and then comprehensive tests were carried on a hexahedral brick element formulation under uniaxial,biaxial,and triaxial stress states to verify its rationality through comparisons with results determined by the HJC and Karagozian&Case(K&C)models.Finally,the proposed model was used to simulate the damage caused to UHTCC targets subjected to blast by embedded explosive and projectile penetration,and predictions were compared with corresponding experimental results.The results of the numerical simulations showed that our proposed model was more accurate than the HJC model in predicting the size of the crater,penetration depth,and the distribution of cracks inside the target following the blast or high-speed impact loading.

Uniaxial Compressive Properties of Ultra High Toughness Cementitious Composite

Uniaxial compression tests were conducted to characterize the main compressive performance of ultra high toughness cementitious composite （UHTCC） in terms of strength and toughness and to obtain its stress-strain relationships. The compressive strength investigated ranges from 30 MPa to 60 MPa. Complete stress-strain curves were directly obtained, and the strength indexes, including uniaxial compressive strength, compressive strain at peak stress, elastic modulus and Poisson＇s ratio, were calculated. The comparisons between UHTCC and matrix were also carried out to understand the fiber effect on the compressive strength indexes. Three dimensionless toughness indexes were calculated, which either represent its relative improvement in energy absorption capacity because of fiber addition or provide an indication of its behavior relative to a rigid-plastic material. Moreover, two new toughness indexes, which were named as post-crack deformation energy and equivalent compressive strength, were proposed and calculated with the aim at linking up the compressive toughness of UHTCC with the existing design concept of concrete. The failure mode was also given. The study production provides material characteristics for the practical engineering application of UHTCC.