Web Application Tool for Characterizing UHPFRC Tensile Properties

Abstract

A numerical tool for characterizing the tensile properties of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) is presented. The application is based on a model capable of reproducing the load-deflection response of prismatic unnotched UHPFRC specimens under the Four-Point Bending Test (4PBT). The constitutive behaviour considered considers three distinct branches, encompassing both strain hardening (SH) and strain softening (SS) behaviours. The constitutive behaviour is implemented in a non-linear section analysis to consider the crack development. Moreover, the sectional behaviour is implemented at a structural level through a non-linear hinge model. Therefore, the numerical model allows for an immediate analysis of the load-deflection response with respect to those variables that influence the 4PBT. This includes those specific parameters that define the UHPFRC constitutive behaviour as well as those ones that determine the test typology and the geometry of the specimens. The numerical application also includes an iterative inverse analysis method enabling the automatic search for the tensile properties given a load-deflection experimental response.