CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS/FASTER, HIGHER, TOUGHER: PUSHING AHEAD THE BOUNDARIES OF STRUCTURAL CONCRETE THROUGH FIBER REINFORCED CEMENTITIOUS COMPOSITES WITH ADAPTED RHEOLOGY

Author(s): Liberato Ferrara
Paper category: Proceeding
Book title: Design, Performance and Use of Self-Consolidating Concrete
Editor(s): Caijun Shi, Zhihua Ou and Kamal Henri Khayat
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-143-8
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-144-5
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2014
Pages: 61
Total Pages : 1
Language : English

Abstract: Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites with adapted rheology, such as Fiber Reinforced Concrete Self-Compacting Concrete (FR-SCC), combine the benefits of highly flowable concrete in the fresh state with the enhanced performance in the hardened state in terms of crack control and fracture toughness provided by the dispersed fiber reinforcement. Thanks to the suitably adapted rheology of the concrete matrix, it is possible to achieve a uniform dispersion of fibers, which is of the foremost importance for a reliable performance of structural elements. Balanced viscosity of concrete may also be helpful to drive the fibers along the concrete flow direction. An ad-hoc designed casting process may hence lead to an orientation of the fibers “tailored” to the intended application, which is along the anticipated directions of the principal tensile stresses within the structural element when in service. This converges towards a “holistic” approach to the design of structure made with highly flowable/self consolidating FRC, which encompasses the influence of fresh state performance and casting process on fiber dispersion and orientation, and the related outcomes in terms of hardened state properties. A thorough understanding is required of the mechanisms underlying the connection between mix-design and fresh state performance, on one hand, and the dispersion and orientation of the fibers on the other hand, also in the context with monitoring and prediction to achieve the anticipated performance in the hardened state.
In this framework, this paper, after a review of the current state of art on the aforementioned topics, will focus on the research needs which have to be urgently tackled in order to address the use of this kind of advanced cement based materials for high end structural applications.

Online publication: 2017
Publication type: full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00