Experimental investigation and micromechanics-based damage modeling of tensile failure of polymer concrete reinforced with recycled PET bottles

• Epoxy-based polymer concretes (PCs) behave in a quasi-brittle manner and suffer from low tensile strength. Adding different kinds of fillers has been widely used to improve the ductility of these materials and change the failure mechanisms. In this study, we used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fillers from recycled bottles to enhance the tensile strength and ductility of PCs and prevent sudden brittle failure. Two different sizes of fillers (i.e., fine and coarse) are considered and the Brazilian disk configuration is used to measure the indirect tensile strength of reinforced PCs. Experimental results showed that the addition of coarse PET fillers to the PC has more significant effects on tensile strength and failure mechanism than fine PET fillers. Then, micromechanical damage analyses are conducted via finite element simulations of two-dimensional representative volume elements. The effects of void content and recycled PET fillers on the tensile strength and ductility of reinforced PCs were studied in the micromechanical simulations. Since the Brazilian disk examines the indirect tensile behavior, a relationship was proposed between the direct micromechanical tensile strength and the indirect macro mechanical tensile strength. The new procedure is experimentally validated for the prediction of the tensile strength of both reinforced and unreinforced PCs.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Kompositmaterial och -teknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Composite Science and Engineering (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Teknisk mekanik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Applied Mechanics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Brazilian disc

Brittle fracture

Finite element analysis

Manufacturing defects

Mechanical engineering

Moulding

Polymer concrete reinforced by recycled plastic

Sudden tensile failure prevention

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)