This paper presents an experimental study on the effect of high strain rate on the tensile behavior of two Strain-Hardening Cement Composites (SHCCs), compared to that of Fiber-Reinforced High-Strength Concretes (FRHSCs) with similar compressive strength.
One of the SHCCs was reinforced with 2% of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers by volume (SHCC-PVA) and had a compressive strength of 62 MPa.
The other was reinforced with 0.5% of steel plus 1.5% of polyethylene (PE) fibers by volume (SHCCST+PE) and had a compressive strength of 80 MPa.
The two FRHSCs were reinforced with 0.5% of steel fibers, and had compressive strengths of 61 MPa and 85 MPa, respectively.
A split Hopkinson pressure bar facility was used to determine the splitting tensile behavior of the SHCCs and FRHSCs at strain rates from about 1 to 11 s-1.
The Dynamic Increase Factor (DIFft), the ratio of the splitting tensile strength under dynamic loading to that under static loading, was determined for the materials considered.
A high-speed camera was also used to capture the failure process of the dynamic splitting tensile tests.
The results indicate that the DIFft of the SHCCs was lower than that of the FRHSCs at a similar strain rate. In addition, it is shown that the equations in CEB-FIP 1990 and fib 2010 codes are not applicable to SHCCs and FRHSCs at the strain rates from about 1 to 11 s-1.
The transition strain rates of these SHCCs and FRHSCs seem to be lower than the values of 30 and 10 s-1 recommended by the CEB-FIP 1990 and fib 2010 codes, respectively.