Experimental investigation and benchmarking of 3D textile reinforced cementitious composites

Abstract

The last couple of years, the importance and potential of textile reinforced cementitious composites (TRC’s) has been investigated and proven in literature. The research has mainly been performed on thin-layered specimens made of individual fibre textile layers impregnated by a matrix. The drawback of this manufacturing technique however is the time-consuming process. A solution is the transition towards a three dimensional, rigid fibre textile, fully immersed in the matrix, which would drastically decrease the production time and thus improve the market uptake of these materials. In this paper, the mechanical properties of 3D textile reinforced cements are investigated. Experimental tensile and bending tests performed on these 3D TRC’s are discussed. The bending behaviour of the 3D TRC’s is compared to that of a 2D TRC with similar textile architecture. In the bending experiments, a clear stiffness difference in post-cracking stage is witnessed between the 3D TRC’s and the equivalent 2D TRC’s. This study serves as a foundation for a benchmark analysis comparing 3D fibre textiles to 2D fibre textiles in terms of manufacturing process and mechanical properties.