Designing Carbon Nanotube and Nanofiber-Polypropylene Hybrid Cementitious Composites with Improved Pre- and Post- Crack Load Carrying and Energy Absorption Capacity

Author(s):  
Panagiotis A. Danoglidis ◽  
Emmanuel E. Gdoutos ◽  
Maria S. Konsta-Gdoutos
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-325
Author(s):  
Min-Jae Kim ◽  
Hong-Joon Choi ◽  
Booki Chun ◽  
Wonsik Shin ◽  
Doo-Yeol Yoo

This study aims to enhance the energy absorption capacity of cementitious composites with 2 vol.% of polyethylene fibers, by adjusting mixing ingredients and curing conditions. Ground blast furnace slag, cement kiln dust, limestone powder, and silica fume were incorporated, and two different curing conditions were applied: 72 h of curing at 90 ℃ and 120 h of curing at 40 ℃. Compressive strength test and direct tensile test were performed on 6 mixtures and the test results were compared with those of ultra-high-performance concrete and engineered cementitious composite specimens. The maximum compressive strength of the 6 mixtures was measured to be approximately 117 MPa. The higher cement replacement ratio of the other components resulted in a decrease in the compressive strength of the specimens cured at 90 ℃. In the direct tensile test, the specimens cured at 40 ℃ exhibited lower tensile strength than those cured at 90 ℃, but the strain capacity was increased by approximately 305% and reached 7.7%. This also resulted in an enhancement of the energy absorption capacity from 80%–292% because of the differences in micro-cracking and fracturing behaviors, such as an increase inthe number of micro-cracks and decrease in crack width.


Author(s):  
Kamal Baral ◽  
Jovan Tatar ◽  
Qian Zhang

Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is a class of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites featuring metal-like strain-hardening behavior under tension and high ductility. The highly ductile behavior of ECC often results in high impact resistance and energy absorption capacity, which make ECC suitable for applications in structures that are prone to impact damages, like exterior bridge girders, bridge piers, and crash barriers. In a recent study, a new ECC mixture has been developed using domestically available polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers and regular river sand in replacement of imported PVA fibers and fine silica sand that are normally used in other ECC mixtures. The newly developed mixture, with improved local accessibility of raw materials, enables structural-scale applications of ECC in transportation infrastructures. To evaluate the suitability of the mixture for impact-resistant structures, in this paper, the tensile and flexural behavior of the newly developed material were characterized under pseudo-static loading and high strain-rate loadings up to 10−1 s−1. Direct drop-weight impact test was also conducted to assess the impact resistance and energy absorption capacity of the material. It was ensured that the ECC mixture maintains high tensile strain capacity above 1.8% under all tested strain rates. Regarding the damage characteristics, energy absorption capacity and load-bearing capacity during repeated impact loadings, ECC was found to have 75% higher energy dissipation capacity compared with regular reinforced concrete specimens and superior damage tolerance. The research results demonstrated that the newly developed ECC has a great potential to improve the impact resistance of transportation infrastructures.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2585-2615
Author(s):  
AR Nazari ◽  
MZ Kabir ◽  
H Hosseini-Toudeshky ◽  
Y Alizadeh Vaghasloo ◽  
S Najafian

Failure and damage of crushable materials employed as core for the sandwich structures reduces serviceability and energy absorption capacity of the components especially under bending load so that many beneficial properties seem to be achieved by application of noncrushable lightweight materials instead of crushable foams as core for the sandwich structures. In this paper, an elastomeric foam is employed as core for two aspect ratios of the composite sandwich panels and the enhancement of the load-carrying capacity in the elastomeric foam-cored sandwich panels is investigated in comparison to which is measured about the individual composite panels applied as skins. Both experimental and finite element simulation programs are included in the research. The load-carrying performance of the elastomeric foam-cored sandwich panels is considered dependent on two main features of the constituent materials as hyperelastic behavior of the foam core and progressive damage of the composite skins which are simulated in the finite element models in order to describe the failure mechanism in the panels. Collapse of the elastomeric foam-cored sandwich panels is considered due to connection of some failure lines in the composite skins; however, the foam core remains undamaged. The elastomeric foam core can transfer the load from the top composite skin to the bottom one so that a great energy absorption capacity is provided for these panels. The elastomeric foam after failure of the composite skins can mobilize the residual strength of the laminates to endure against large deformations prior to final collapse. By application of the composite laminates in sandwich form with elastomeric foam core, the maximum load carrying and energy absorption capacity of the composite laminates increased about 60 and 110%, respectively. The results show more favorite failure behavior for the elastomeric foam-cored sandwich panels in comparison to which is expected usually for the crushable foam-cored sandwich panels which may be concerned in many industrial applications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Tamil Selvi ◽  
T. S. Thandavamoorthy

AbstractConcrete is the most widely used construction material because of its specialty of being cast into any desired shape. The main requirements of earthquake resistant structures are good ductility and energy absorption capacity. Fiber reinforced concrete possesses high flexural and tensile strength, improved ductility, and high energy absorption over the conventional concrete in sustaining dynamic loads. The aim of this paper is to compare the properties of concrete beams in which three types of fibers are added individually. Steel fibers, polypropylene fibers and hybrid fibers were added to concrete in the weight ratio of four percentages in the preparation of four beam specimens. The fourth specimen did not contain fibers and acted as a control specimen. The dimensions of the beam specimens were 150 mm × 150 mm × 700 mm. The reinforced concrete beams of M30 grade concrete were prepared for casting and testing. Various parameters such as load carrying capacity, stiffness degradation, ductility characteristics and energy absorption capacity of FRC beams were compared with that of RC beams. The companion specimens were cast and tested to study strength properties and then the results were compared. All the beams were tested under three point bending under Universal Testing Machine (UTM). The results were evaluated with respect to modulus of elasticity, first crack load, ultimate load, and ultimate deflection. The test result shows that use of hybrid fiber improves the flexural performance of the reinforced concrete beams. The flexural behavior and stiffness of the tested beams were calculated, and compared with respect to their load carrying capacities. Comparison was also made with theoretical calculations in order to determine the load-deflection curves of the tested beams. Results of the experimental programme were compared with theoretical predictions. Based on the results of the experimental programme, it can be concluded that the addition of steel, polypropylene and hybrid fibers by 4% by weight of cement (but 2.14 % by volume of cement) had the best effect on the stiffness and energy absorption capacity of the beams.


Author(s):  
H Geramizadeh ◽  
S Dariushi ◽  
S Jedari Salami

The current study focuses on designing the optimal three-dimensional printed sandwich structures. The main goal is to improve the energy absorption capacity of the out-of-plane honeycomb sandwich beam. The novel Beta VI and Alpha VI were designed in order to achieve this aim. In the Beta VI, the connecting curves (splines) were used instead of the four diagonal walls, while the two vertical walls remained unchanged. The Alpha VI is a step forward on the Beta VI, which was promoted by filleting all angles among the vertical walls, created arcs, and face sheets. The two offered sandwich structures have not hitherto been provided in the literature. All models were designed and simulated by the CATIA and ABAQUS, respectively. The three-dimensional printer fabricated the samples by fused deposition modeling technique. The material properties were determined under tensile, compression, and three-point bending tests. The results are carried out by two methods based on experimental tests and finite element analyses that confirmed each other. The achievements provide novel insights into the determination of the adequate number of unit cells and demonstrate the energy absorption capacity of the Beta VI and Alpha VI are 23.7% and 53.9%, respectively, higher than the out-of-plane honeycomb sandwich structures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Talebi ◽  
R. Hedayati ◽  
M. Sadighi

AbstractClosed-cell metal foams are cellular solids that show unique properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high energy absorption capacity, and low thermal conductivity. Due to being computation and cost effective, modeling the behavior of closed-cell foams using regular unit cells has attracted a lot of attention in this regard. Recent developments in additive manufacturing techniques which have made the production of rationally designed porous structures feasible has also contributed to recent increasing interest in studying the mechanical behavior of regular lattice structures. In this study, five different topologies namely Kelvin, Weaire–Phelan, rhombicuboctahedron, octahedral, and truncated cube are considered for constructing lattice structures. The effects of foam density and impact velocity on the stress–strain curves, first peak stress, and energy absorption capacity are investigated. The results showed that unit cell topology has a very significant effect on the stiffness, first peak stress, failure mode, and energy absorption capacity. Among all the unit cell types, the Kelvin unit cell demonstrated the most similar behavior to experimental test results. The Weaire–Phelan unit cell, while showing promising results in low and medium densities, demonstrated unstable behavior at high impact velocity. The lattice structures with high fractions of vertical walls (truncated cube and rhombicuboctahedron) showed higher stiffness and first peak stress values as compared to lattice structures with high ratio of oblique walls (Weaire–Phelan and Kelvin). However, as for the energy absorption capacity, other factors were important. The lattice structures with high cell wall surface area had higher energy absorption capacities as compared to lattice structures with low surface area. The results of this study are not only beneficial in determining the proper unit cell type in numerical modeling of dynamic behavior of closed-cell foams, but they are also advantageous in studying the dynamic behavior of additively manufactured lattice structures with different topologies.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Przemysław Rumianek ◽  
Tomasz Dobosz ◽  
Radosław Nowak ◽  
Piotr Dziewit ◽  
Andrzej Aromiński

Closed-cell expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam is commonly used in car bumpers for the purpose of absorbing energy impacts. Characterization of the foam’s mechanical properties at varying strain rates is essential for selecting the proper material used as a protective structure in dynamic loading application. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of loading strain rate, material density, and microstructure on compressive strength and energy absorption capacity for closed-cell polymeric foams. We performed quasi-static compressive strength tests with strain rates in the range of 0.2 to 25 mm/s, using a hydraulically controlled material testing system (MTS) for different foam densities in the range 20 g/dm3 to 220 g/dm3. The above tests were carried out as numerical simulation using ABAQUS software. The verification of the properties was carried out on the basis of experimental tests and simulations performed using the finite element method. The method of modelling the structure of the tested sample has an impact on the stress values. Experimental tests were performed for various loads and at various initial temperatures of the tested sample. We found that increasing both the strain rate of loading and foam density raised the compressive strength and energy absorption capacity. Increasing the ambient and tested sample temperature caused a decrease in compressive strength and energy absorption capacity. For the same foam density, differences in foam microstructures were causing differences in strength and energy absorption capacity when testing at the same loading strain rate. To sum up, tuning the microstructure of foams could be used to acquire desired global materials properties. Precise material description extends the possibility of using EPP foams in various applications.


2012 ◽  
Vol 730-732 ◽  
pp. 271-276
Author(s):  
H.R. Pakravan ◽  
M. Jamshidi ◽  
M. Latifi ◽  
F. Pacheco-Torgal

This paper compares the adhesion strength between three polymeric fibres (polypropylene (PP), nylon66 (N66) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN)) embedded in a cement paste. The specimens were prepared at a water to cement ratio (w/c) of 0.5 and tested after 7, 14 and 28 curing days. It was found that although the adhesion between the polymeric fibres to the cement matrix is an important factor, the energy absorption capacity or energy dissipation ability of the fibres, plays a more important role in the improvement of the cementitious composites fracture toughness. Scanning electron micrographs were used to characterize the fibres surface before and after the Pull-out tests.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1019 ◽  
pp. 96-102
Author(s):  
Ali Taherkhani ◽  
Ali Alavi Nia

In this study, the energy absorption capacity and crush strength of cylindrical thin-walled structures is investigated using nonlinear Finite Elements code LS-DYNA. For the thin-walled structure, Aluminum A6063 is used and its behaviour is modeled using power-law equation. In order to better investigate the performance of tubes, the simulation was also carried out on structures with other types of cross-sections such as triangle, square, rectangle, and hexagonal, and their results, namely, energy absorption, crush strength, peak load, and the displacement at the end of tubes was compared to each other. It was seen that the circular cross-section has the highest energy absorption capacity and crush strength, while they are the lowest for the triangular cross-section. It was concluded that increasing the number of sides increases the energy absorption capacity and the crush strength. On the other hand, by comparing the results between the square and rectangular cross-sections, it can be found out that eliminating the symmetry of the cross-section decreases the energy absorption capacity and the crush strength. The crush behaviour of the structure was also studied by changing the mass and the velocity of the striker, simultaneously while its total kinetic energy is kept constant. It was seen that the energy absorption of the structure is more sensitive to the striker velocity than its mass.


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