Material properties and structural characteristics influencing deformation capacity and plasticity in reinforced ductile cement-based composite structural components

Composite structural components using high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCCs)reinforced with mild steel have been observed to fail due to reinforcement fracture instead of crushing of the concrete material. Unlike traditional reinforced concrete members, experimental findings have shown that HPFRCC component ductility increases with reinforcement ratio; however, variation in deformation capacity for a given reinforcement ratio is still not well understood. This study investigates the influence of composite material properties and structural characteristics on deformation capacity of reinforced HPFRCC members using numerical simulation. Finite element models were simulated under monotonic loading to understand the variability in deformation capacity through HPFRCC damage patterns, bond-slip between HPFRCC matrix and longitudinal reinforcement, and spread of plasticity in the longitudinal reinforcement. Simulation results show that there is a substantial decrease in component deformation capacity with high strength HPFRCC materials due to the formation and propagation of flexural cracks. The effects of boundary conditions and shear span-depth ratio are also explored. Discussion is provided to assess the relative influence of HPFRCC material and structural characteristics on component-level performance in terms of cracking, strain distribution, and deformation capacity to better inform future development of materials and structural applications.