Tensile and bending behaviour of a strain hardening cement-based composite: Experimental and numerical analysis

IFSTTAR has developed a Multi-Scale Cement Based Composite (MSCC). This composite material is strain hardening in tension and exhibits ultra-high strengths as well in both compression and tension. The main research objectives for the present paper are the determination of the strain hardening properties of the material: using a newly developed tensile test in conjunction with a finite-element-based inverse analysis, the input parameters of an (adapted) numerical model can be identified. Therefore, numerical simulations can be performed to describe the bending behaviour of a thin slab having a thickness representative of the corresponding industrial application. The main conclusions of this study are: – The studied material clearly exhibits strain hardening in tension with a uniaxial tensile strength of about 20 MPa and a modulus of rupture of about 50 MPa. – Elasto-plastic behaviour with strain hardening is a relevant mechanical model (for the studied material) for designing (by the finite element method) structural elements behaving principally in bending.