Fracture properties of GGBFS-blended fly ash geopolymer concrete cured in ambient temperature

Fracture characteristics are important part of concrete design against brittle failure. Recently, fly ash geopolymer binder is gaining significant interest as a greener alternative to traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Hence it is important to understand the failure behaviour of fly ash based geopolymers for safe design of structures built with such materials. This paper presents the fracture properties of ambient-cured geopolymer concrete (GPC). Notched beam specimens of GPC mixtures based mainly on fly ash and a small percentage of ground granulated blast furnace slag were subjected to three-point bending test to evaluate fracture behaviour. The effect of mixture proportions on the fracture properties were compared with control as well as OPC concrete. The results show that fracture properties are influenced by the mixture compositions. Presence of additional water affected fracture properties adversely. Fracture energy is generally governed by tensile strength which correlates with compressive strength. Critical stress intensity factor varies with the variation of flexural strength. Geopolymer concrete specimens showed similar load–deflection behaviour as OPC concrete specimens. The ambient cured GPC showed relatively more ductility than the previously reported heat cured GPC, which is comparable to the OPC specimens. Fly ash based GPC achieved relatively higher fracture energy and similar values of KIC as compared to those of OPC concrete of similar compressive strength. Thus, fly ash based GPC designed for curing in ambient condition can achieve fracture properties comparable to those of normal OPC concrete

Fracture and self-sensing characteristics of super-fine stainless wire reinforced reactive powder concrete

YesSuper-fine stainless wire (SSW) can not only form widely distributed enhancing, toughening and conductive network in reactive powder concrete (RPC) at low dosage level, but also improve weak interface area and refine cracks due to its micron scale diameter and large specific surface. In addition, the crack resistance zone generated by SSWs and RPC matrix together has potential to further enhance the fracture properties of composites. Therefore, fracture and self-sensing characteristics of SSW reinforced RPC composites were investigated in this paper. Experimental results indicated that adding 1.5 vol. % of SSW leads to 183.1% increase in the initial cracking load of RPC specimens under three-point bending load. Based on two parameter fracture model calculations, an increase of 203.4% in fracture toughness as well as an increase of 113.3% in crack tip opening displacement of the composites reinforced with 1.5% SSWs are achieved. According to double-K fracture model calculations, the initiation fracture toughness and unstable fracture toughness of the composites are enhanced by 185.2% and 179.2%, respectively. The increment for fracture energy of the composites reaches up to 1017.1% because of the emergence of blunt and tortuous cracks. The mixed mode Ⅰ-Ⅱ fracture toughness of the composites is increased by 177.1% under four-point shearing load. The initial angle of mixed mode Ⅰ-Ⅱ cracks of the composites decreases with the increase of SSW content. The initiation and propagation of cracks in the composites can be monitored by their change in electrical resistivity. The excellent fracture toughness of the composites is of great significance for the improvement of structure safety in serviceability limit states, and the self-sensing ability of the composites can also provide early warning for the degradation of structure safety.National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFC0705601), the National Science Foundation of China (51578110), China Postdoctoral Science Fundation (2019M651116) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in China (DUT18GJ203)