Modelling of Textile Reinforced Concrete in bending and shear with Elastic-Cracked Stress Fields

Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) is emerging as a promising alternative to ordinary Reinforced Concrete for the construction of durable, lightweight and more sustainable structures, with a large potential particularly in shells and thin members. Research on the response of TRC in bending and shear as so far been performed on the basis of different approaches: plain section analysis with compatibility conditions for bending and mostly empirical strength formulas for shear. This paper explores a comprehensive approach for modelling the TRC response both for bending and shear on the basis of the Elastic-Cracked Stress Field (ECSF) method. The results of two full-scale flanged members in TRC tested in three-point-bending are presented. The tests are investigated by using Digital Image Correlation and the results are used to validate the assumptions of the ECSF. This approach allows accounting for the peculiarities of the material (notably for the linear-brittle response of the fabric) and leads to consistent results, accurately predicting the structural response in terms of strength and deformation capacity. The method is finally validated with other tests from the scientific literature, showing consistent agreement with a low coefficient of variation.