Tailored Structures with textile-reinforced concrete

Abstract

By careful removal of material in concrete structures with limited plasticity such as shear critical beams leads to an increase in the bearing capacity. This uplift, however, can come at the cost of a lower stiffness. Here we investigate the tailoring of RC-structures where the concrete is functionally graded, the width of the structure is locally reduced and novel textile reinforcement is included. To demonstrate the proof of concept, such a tailored concrete beam was cast and tested in three-point bending. The results indicate that this tailoring concept does not only offer material savings but also demonstrates a high stiffness and load capacity. The concept therefore shows great potential for the more resource-efficient use of materials.