Development of an Engineered Slurry-Infiltrated Fibrous Concrete: Experimental and Modelling Approaches

Abstract

Concrete is the central pile for the infrastructure that maintains civilisation and human life. The concrete industry faces many challenges, including improving mechanical properties, eco-friendliness, and durability. In this context, the present study focuses on evaluating and modelling themechanical properties of engineered concrete, namely slurry-infiltrated fibrous concrete (SIFCON). The main experiments will be devoted to measuring and modelling the failures of slabs made from SIFCON under two loading systems, namely static and impact loading systems. The model was developed using a non-linear finite element analysis. The experiments considered the influence of the geometry of the reinforcement steel fibres (hook-end fibres, microfibres, and combined hook-end and microfibres), sizes of fibres, and slab dimensions. The outcomes of this investigation showed that increasing the slab’s thickness enhances the load-bearing capacity of the SIFCON slab, and the microfibres and combined hook-end and microfibres improved the load-bearing capacity of the slab compared to the hook-end fibre. Generally, it was noticed that the outcomes of the experiments agreed with the modelling outcomes. Nevertheless, it was noticed that experimentally measured axial deformation was more significant than the predicted axial deformation. In summary, the difference between experimental and modelling outcomes was 1.1–10.2%, with a standard deviation of 0.0264. Based on the excellent ability of SIFCON to resist impacts and dynamic loads, it is recommended to be used in pavements, military structures, nuclear reactor walls, and in areas subjected to high bending moments, such as corner connections subjected to opening bending moments.

Numerical and Experimental Behavior Analysis of Slabs Strengthened Using Steel Plates and Slurry-Infiltrated Mat Concrete (SIMCON) Laminates

“…Figure 13 illustrates the set-up of the slab specimens mentioned. The pre-defined displacing routine includes about (20)(21)(22) cycles of displacement that are fully reversal. An incremental increase is seen in the peak displacement value until it fails, rising from a (0.25%) drift up to (7%).…”

“…It has been found that SIMCON could behave similarly to SIFCON in terms of flexure but with approximately half the fiber volume fracture [17]. In SIFCON, flexural failure occurs in the form of a main crack; meanwhile, multiple cracks were observed in SIMCON [18][19][20]. Other advantages of SIMCON include providing the same strength and energy absorption capacity as SIFCON at a lower fiber volume [21].…”

Anti-Impact Performance Enhancement of Two-Way Spanning Slab through the Implementation of Steel Trussed Bars

“…Various methodologies and materials have been employed to enhance the durability of slabs under both static and dynamic loading conditions. Tese include shear studs [18], basalt fber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strips [19], hybrid fbers comprising hooked-end steel, polypropylene, and Kevlar [20], high-performance fber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs) [21], prestressed concrete [22,23], ferrocement [24], internal anchorage stirrups [25][26][27], Wshaped stirrups [28], truss shear reinforcement [29][30][31], steel plates and slurry-infltrated mat concrete (SIMCON) laminates [32,33], polypropylene fber [33], geogrids [34], and carbon textiles [35]. Increasing the thickness of the slab has demonstrated efcacy in reducing damage and altering failure modes [36], while employing higher-grade concrete has shown some advantages in mitigating slab puncture [37][38][39][40][41].…”

“…Te research approach includes a detailed comparison through computational simulations, essential for guiding design decisions in particular structural settings. Following the implementation of these reinforcement techniques [32][33][34][35][36][37], there was a noticeable transition in the primary failure mechanism from direct crushing to bending. Additionally, certain strategies have been shown to combine bending with specifc localized crushing efects, as noted in earlier investigations [25][26][27]29].…”