EPFL Logo
fr|en
Login
Publication

Biaxial flexural fatigue behavior of strain-hardening UHPFRC thin slab elements

Eugen Brühwiler, Xiujiang Shen
2020
Journal paper
Abstract

The biaxial flexural fatigue behavior of thin slab elements made of strain-hardening Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composite (UHPFRC) is investigated experimentally by means of the ring-on-ring test method. Fourteen flexural fatigue tests under constant amplitude fatigue cycles up to the Very High Cycle Fatigue domain (20 million cycles) are conducted with varying maximum fatigue stress level S ranging from 0.50 to 0.68. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technology is applied to capture the 3D full-field strain contours on the tensile surface through the entire fatigue test. Test results presented in the S-N diagram reveal a fatigue endurance limit under biaxial flexural fatigue at S = 0.54. Fatigue tests exhibiting failure show four distinct phases of damage evolution, while only the first two phases are observed in the case of run-out tests. DIC analysis reveal formation and propagation of multiple fine fictitious cracks that dominate the stable fatigue propagation phase with slow rate, representing the longest part of fatigue life of the UHPFRC specimen. Finally, the secant modulus of deflection and fictitious crack opening with respect to fatigue cycles is found to characterize quantitatively fatigue damage evolution.

Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related concepts (27)
Fatigue (material)
In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts of the fracture surface. The crack will continue to grow until it reaches a critical size, which occurs when the stress intensity factor of the crack exceeds the fracture toughness of the material, producing rapid propagation and typically complete fracture of the structure.
Ultimate tensile strength
Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials the ultimate tensile strength is close to the yield point, whereas in ductile materials the ultimate tensile strength can be higher. The ultimate tensile strength is usually found by performing a tensile test and recording the engineering stress versus strain.
Tensile testing
Tensile testing, also known as tension testing, is a fundamental materials science and engineering test in which a sample is subjected to a controlled tension until failure. Properties that are directly measured via a tensile test are ultimate tensile strength, breaking strength, maximum elongation and reduction in area. From these measurements the following properties can also be determined: Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, yield strength, and strain-hardening characteristics.
Show more
Related publications (32)

Influence of fiber orientation on the tensile behavior of UHPFRC and reinforced UHPFRC under static and fatigue loadings

Jian Zhan

Ultra-high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composite (UHPFRC) is a modern class of cementitious building materials. Because of its superior mechanical properties and durability, it is increasingly used globally to rehabilitate, strengthen and mod ...
EPFL2024

Crack kinematics prediction in concrete structures and assessment of their criticality

Ludivine Menoud

The observation of cracks in normally functioning reinforced concrete (RC) structures is expected as the tensile strength of concrete is relatively low. However, one or more of those cracks can start to propagate with increasing crack openings, localizing ...
2023

Multi-scale characterization and modeling of notched strength and translaminar fracture in hybrid thin-ply composites based on different carbon fiber grades

Guillaume Clément Broggi

Owing to their high specific stiffness and strength, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites (CFRP) are ideal candidates for the development of lightweight high-performance structures. Within this family, thin-ply composites allow for wider design freedom and p ...
EPFL2023
Show more

Copyright © 2025 EPFL, all rights reserved

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.