Mechanical Behavior of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Structures After Structural Failure

Abstract

The research presented below examines the use of carbon fiber-reinforced concrete specimens that have been previously tested under compression. For this study, two types of specimens were used: half without the addition of polypropylene fibers and the other half with the addition of 3 kg/m3 of polypropylene fibers. These specimens were tested in two stress groups, one above 15 N/mm2 and the other below this value. The confinement was carried out using four types of carbon fibers, two unidirectional and two bidirectional, analyzing their stress and maximum strain and comparing them with reference tests. The results indicate that confinement with carbon fibers is highly effective for stresses both above and below 15 N/mm2. In fact, the confinement increased the compressive strength compared to the original specimens, which had very low strengths, reaching values up to 15 N/mm2. Finally, the polypropylene fibers demonstrated a greater energy absorption capacity, achieving a non-explosive failure.