Cyclic loading and fracture mechanics of Ductal® concrete

Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) is a special type of ultra high strength, superplasticized, silica fume concrete, often fibre-reinforced, with improved homogeneity because the traditional coarse and fine aggregate are replaced by fine sand with particle sizes in the range of 100–400 μm [4–16 thousandths of an inch]. RPC properties are attractive because compressive strengths up to 800 MPa [116 ksi] have been recorded, but more typically in excess of 200 MPa [29 ksi]. Flexural strengths up to 141 MPa [20.4 ksi] and fracture energy of 40 kJ/m2[kJ/in.2] have been reported—the latter achieved when steel or stainless steel fibres were included in the mix (Bache (1998) Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on superplasticizers in concrete, Ottawa, pp 35–41; Coppola et al. L’Industria Ital Cemento 707:112–125 (1996); Blais and Couture PCI J 44(5):60–71 (1999); Richard and Cheyrezy (1994) Proceedings of V. Mohan Malhotra symposium on concrete technology: past, present, and future (SP 144). American Concrete Institute, Detroit, pp 507–518; Richard and Cheyrezy Cement Concrete Res 25(7):1501–1511 (1995)). Ductal®, a commercial RPC, has a compressive strength of approximately 150 MPa [22 ksi] with metallic or organic fibres. All tests described here were performed on 40 × 40 × 160 mm [1.6 × 1.6 × 6.3 in.] (Width (b) × Depth (d) × length (L)) prisms with Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) fibres. Ductal® is a family of RPC and micro-defect-free concretes containing micro silica, silica fume, cement, Quartz sand, superplasticizer, and PVA fibres. Mechanical and fracture parameters were investigated using four point bending. Low and high cyclic fatigue tests were conducted in three stages, starting from low to high strain cycles. Cracks generated by cyclic fatigue tests were monitored periodically in order to evaluate the rate of crack propagation. Cracks were also investigated using a high magnification microscope. Three pairs of specimens were tested, notched and un-notched to evaluate fracture parameters. Four point bending was used again because determination of the J-Integral (J IC ) requires the application of pure bending over a portion of the beam. Load was applied at the third points over a span (S) of 120 mm [4.7 in.], providing a span to depth ratio (S/d) of 3.0. Specimens were notched using a 1 mm [0.04 in.] thick diamond saw. The crack tip generated was circular and the crack length (s) was approximately 10 mm [0.4 in.]. Tests on the notched specimens included measurement of the crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD). Closed-loop testing was developed using a feed back signal from the (CMOD) clip gauge attached to the notched specimens and from strain gauges attached to the un-notched specimens. The weight (w) of each specimen was obtained prior to testing. Fracture parameters were calculated from the load–deflection curves obtained from the notched and un-notched specimens.