FRC AND HPFRC COMPOSITES:FROM CONSTITUTIVE BEHAVIOUR TO STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Four applications are considered in the paper: SFRC roof elements, sheltering structures, ground slabs and GFRC light faade panels. The common point for all these structures is the use of structural redundancy in order to guarantee ductility in the structural behaviour, although the constitutive behaviour owing to the reduced amount of fibers is always characterized by softening in uniaxial tension. Three different sources of redundancy are discussed: the heterogeneity of the mechanical characteristics, the volume size and the ability of the structure to redistribute stresses on the basis of its shape and boundary conditions. The main purpose is to debate the use of the characteristic material strength values to compute the bearing capacity of structures characterized by a significant statical redundancy.